


Holding to your gaze

by mintchocthusiast (hwanghyunjin03)



Series: smile is the beginning of love [2]
Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: 2min - Freeform, Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Anxiety, Fluff, Friendship, Hwang Hyunjin is Whipped, I swear I'm Minsung stan but..., Kim Seungmin is Whipped, Kim Seungmin-centric, Light Angst, M/M, Romance, Secret Relationship, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, chan changbin jeongin mentioned, like very light, minchan mentioned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-06
Updated: 2020-03-20
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:41:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 27,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23037262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hwanghyunjin03/pseuds/mintchocthusiast
Summary: Seventh years of Gryffindor and Slytherin have always hated each other.Nobody really knows what went wrong but somehow it is said that they have become sworn enemies since their first year. Since then, they have declared not to befriend each other and if anyone gets caught for being friends, they would get ostracized for life by the same years of their houses.Despite the whole hate ordeal, two seventh years from the respective houses somehow have fallen in love with each other. In fact, the Head Boy of Slytherin, Kim Seungmin is actually dating the Quidditch Captain of Gryffindor, Hwang Hyunjin.Alternatively, the history of how Seungmin begins dating Hyunjin secretly.
Relationships: Hwang Hyunjin/Kim Seungmin
Series: smile is the beginning of love [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1606630
Comments: 71
Kudos: 351





	1. A meaningful glance

**Author's Note:**

> This is a fic I've been working on for a while now and I'm still working on final chapter. I was supposed to finish it before today (because it's my birthday) but well, that didn't happen LOL The last chapter will be on Hyunjin's birthday! I hope you guys can enjoy reading as much as I enjoyed writing it!
> 
> PS: English is my second language so spare me for any mistake.

Seventh years of Gryffindor and Slytherin have always hated each other. 

Nobody really knows what went wrong but somehow it is said that they have become sworn enemies since their first year. Since then, they have declared not to befriend each other and if anyone gets caught for being friends, they would get ostracized for life by the same years of their houses. Out of fear of getting ostracized, all of the same year students comply without asking much questions. No other year’s students are affected but seventh year.

Despite the whole hate ordeal, two seventh years from the respective houses somehow have fallen in love with each other. In fact, the Head Boy of Slytherin, Kim Seungmin is actually dating the Quidditch Captain of Gryffindor, Hwang Hyunjin. 

They were in fifth year when everything between them began.

Seungmin began to catch Hyunjin glancing at him in the beginning of spring, either in the classes they shared together, along the corridor when they passed by each other or in Great Hall. Yes, in  _ freaking _ Great Hall where everyone could have noticed. Seungmin thought only someone like Hyunjin was brave enough to do that without getting caught. He would often catch him turning to Seungmin and taking a glimpse at him, even for millisecond, and their eyes would meet every time without failure. 

On usual days, Seungmin would just shrug it off thinking it was accidental but it had been so  _ often _ that he thought the raven haired boy did it on purpose, to catch his attention. 

It bothered him; Hyunjin’s glances.

He couldn’t figure out why it bothered him so much. Ever since the hate ordeal against the same years Gryffindor had begun, Seungmin never really favoured that kind of hate but he had to go along with it to avoid getting ostracized by his same year Slytherin friends. 

“What’s on your mind?”

Seungmin’s thought was snapped back to reality when someone threw him the question. He whipped his head to his right, where the person was sitting comfortably on the same couch as his, right next to himself, looking at him with a pair of wide curious eyes. It was the weekend and many students were hanging out in the common room.

“Nothing much, Minho.” 

Minho tilted his head, his big doe eyes gazing at Seungmin with a certain intensity that made Seungmin nervous sometimes. In fact, he was a tiny wee bit nervous at the moment. Minho’s slender fingers were gently petting an orange cat sitting comfortably in his laps, purring ever so softly. Seungmin believed the cat’s name was Soonie if he remembered the older boy told him correctly.

“It doesn’t seem like it’s nothing much,” Minho voiced out casually, “I know that stare of yours Seungmin. You stare and blank out whenever you have so much on your mind. I’ve noticed you’ve spaced out often these days.”

Seungmin pressed his lips into a firm line and swallowed. He was someone people could hardly read his inner side but not Minho. The sixth year boy read him like an open book and it was hard to escape. 

Or was it  _ him  _ who was obvious around Minho?

Seungmin sighed and gave in. He decided it was not necessary for him to reveal everything as long as he was honest.  _ Right? _

“Someone has been on my mind lately,” Seungmin confessed, averting the strong gaze of the older as his fingers started to fiddle around the hem of his shirt. Minho’s eyes brightened at the revelation, not expecting Seungmin to give in so quickly. The younger boy would usually beat around the bush before he actually let out what had been on his mind. 

“Oh. And here I thought you’re struggling with your prefect duties or something. But, go on.”

Minho leaned forward to listen better, almost crushing Soonie in the process. The poor cat let out a fierce  _ meow _ before Minho adjusted his position again, gesturing Seungmin to continue.

“This guy, he’s been throwing glances at me constantly. Sometimes he would wait for me to look at him and only then he looked away, and it bothers me.”

“In a good way or bad? The way he looked at you.”

Seungmin paused and had a thought. He shrugged and shook his head. “No idea. It doesn’t feel either way. It’s rather like; it bothers me that he’s on my mind, constantly.”

“What kind of vibe did his glance give?”

“Curiosity.”

Minho raised an eyebrow. “Curiosity? Did he like, wink at you or something?“

“No.” Seungmin shook his head. “He looked away as soon as our eyes met. Like, he wanted to get caught looking.”

Minho nods understandingly. “When did you realize he’s been looking?”

“Since two weeks ago.”

“Oh.” Minho blinked his eyes several times, pausing to think for a while. “Frankly speaking, that’s a little bit creepy, don’t you think?”

Seungmin’s lips stretched into a small smile, which Minho noticed. “Now that I think, it does. But somehow, it doesn’t feel like it.”

“Really?” asks Minho. “Um, I wonder who…” his voice trailed off as he cast a knowing glance to Seungmin. 

Seungmin chewed his lower lip, lowering his head and fiddling his fingers, not wanting to answer the question. A chuckle escaped Minho’s lips as he knew what the body language meant.

“Alright I won’t ask again. I’ll just wait until you tell me yourself,” he said, clasping his hands together a little too loud, startling the sleeping Soonie. The orange cat raised her head for a bit before snuggling back to Minho’s laps. 

“Seungmin, look at me,” said Minho. Hesitantly, Seungmin raised his head and met the older’s dark brown eyes. Minho looked at Seungmin straight in the eyes. His gaze was undeniably soft. “You know you can always come to me and talk, right?”

Seungmin chewed a lip. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to talk about his problems and worries to Minho, most of the time he would rather bottle it up to himself, and everything would get away like it always did, except some didn’t, and Minho knew that. They have been close since Seungmin was second year, so naturally Minho cared for him a lot. 

“I know,” he muttered under his breath.

~***~

Hyunjin did something  _ new _ , and  _ absurd _ from Seungmin’s point of view, the next week, something that made Seungmin’s heart somehow skipped a beat, cheeks flushed in crimson red, and confused, mostly confused.

By the time lunch began, Seungmin was just done with Charms class. He closed his book and picked it up, turning left to see his desk mate was already gone. He wasn’t that surprised as his Slytherin close friend had always disappeared without warning, especially after class. Seungmin patiently and quietly waited for everyone to leave before bringing himself to exit the classroom and head to Great Hall for lunch. 

Being a prefect, he couldn’t help but catch all those rule breakers along the way, some were warned and some got their house points taken. There were a few first and second years he dismissed for their minor rule breaking; it simply wasn’t in his nature to abide the rules too strictly anyway. 

Seungmin began eating his lunch immediately upon taking a seat at their table. After a while, he instinctively looked up straight at Gryffindor table and eyes darting around, but the certain Gryffindor wasn’t present anywhere in the Great Hall. He didn’t like the fact that now, after almost three weeks, he was kind of used to searching for Hyunjin’s constant glances at him .

Seungmin pressed his lips into a firm line; his shoulders dropped in slight disappointment –yes, it was a disappointment he was feeling– as he turned his attention to the food in front of him and continued eating his remaining lunch. He wondered for a second why he felt disappointed not seeing Hyunjin. 

Was it because he was so used to seeing the Gryffindor’s glance that he wanted to be looked at? 

Because on Wednesday, Seungmin could only see the boy during lunch as he would be busy for the rest of the day, and the chance of passing by Hyunjin was slim. 

Seungmin let out a sigh when someone occupied the empty space next to him. 

“What’s with you? Looking all gloomy and discouraged when we barely have classes this morning. You were usually a bit too excited after Charms class, learning a new spell and stuff.”

“Where did you disappear to, Yeji? Did you even present when Professor Flitwick dismissed the class?” Seungmin asked, trying to divert the girl’s attention from himself by changing the topic. 

He wasn’t in the mood to explain anything, no, he would rather not explain anything.

Yeji scrunched her face sourly. “It was you who were slow, Kim Seungmin. Snail Kim,” she huffed in annoyance, stuffing her mouth with food aggressively. “I was still in the classroom when he dismissed us. I went to the library right after he announced it.”

Seungmin nodded understandingly, not entirely minding the nickname Yeji had addressed. He sighed inwardly, glad that Yeji’s attention had shifted, or so he thought.

“Seungmin, you think you can change the topic? Bloody hell no. Now tell me why you looked so  _ terribly _ gloomy,” Yeji said, putting her elbows on the table and throwing a piercing glare at Seungmin intensely with her slanted sharp eyes.

Seungmin let out a defeated sigh. “I’m not  _ that _ gloomy,” he said defensively. He met Yeji’s anticipating eyes who were looking at him curiously with raised eyebrows as he tried to come up with some lame excuses. 

Merlin’s Beard, maybe Yeji would catch him red-handed before he could even say a word. 

“Maybe I’m just lonely, for some reason.” 

Seungmin wasn’t  _ entirely _ lying. Sometimes there was a part of him that felt so lonely even when he was surrounded by many people. He figured that he was like that sometimes and he had learned to deal with it. But these few months, the feeling became so strong that he didn’t know how to deal with it. 

They fell into silence after that. Yeji didn’t expect that her best friend would straight up reveal that he was lonely. She never knew he was as a matter of fact, because the boy didn’t really talk about what he felt. In their five year of friendship, Seungmin didn’t really talk much about himself, or just talk in general. 

Seungmin was the listener if anything.

“You need a girlfriend, or a boyfriend. Find a soulmate!” 

Seungmin snorted at Yeji’s suggestion. “You said it as if finding one is easy. Let alone me, who people would effectively ignore if anything. Being a prefect as cherry on top.”

Yeji rolled her eyes, not amused. “There are people who think you’re attractive, you know. Bunch of them, in fact.”

“Yeah, right.” Seungmin scoffed and shook his head, not having any of the girl’s nonsense talks. He stood up and smoothed his robe, getting ready to leave.

Yeji pressed her lips into a firm line, crossing her arms. “You think I talked nonsense. I’m speaking the truth. Only the truth!”

Seungmin laughed at how annoyed Yeji was. It was fun making the Slytherin work up sometimes. “I’m going to the bathroom. See you.”

Seungmin’s thought was occupied with words Yeji said then. ‘ _ Find a soulmate _ !’ rang in his ears for some reason. Yeji didn’t specifically say having a soulmate would make his loneliness much better, she only told him to find one, and the fact that he was considering right now slightly driving him insane. 

He was about to step out of the Great Hall when he felt something smooth grazed against his fingers. 

The simple touch sent shiver to his spine. 

Alarms blared in his brain and body when his pinky finger was lightly  _ tugged _ to the back for a brief moment before it was let go. 

Seungmin flinched, eyes grew wide, immediately pulling his hand up to his chest. He swiftly turned his body and caught the sight of attractively smiling Hyunjin not far from where he was standing. The thing Hyunjin did next make Seungmin’s body freeze completely,  _ entirely frozen _ . 

Hyunjin winked, before turning his body around and disappeared into the Great Hall.

Seungmin’s heart skipped a beat, feeling the blood pumped throughout his head, because he was sure his cheeks were burning in crimson red right now. The touch from the tug still lingered on his pinky finger.

_ “WHAT. IN. BLOODY. HELL. WAS. THAT???” _ he screamed in his head, placing a hand on his chest, finding his heart was beating uncontrollably fast for his own liking. It was possibly faster than he had ever experienced in his whole life. 

Seungmin stood there, still, for God knew how long. 

It took him a whole Yeji to make him finally move. Yeji was confused as to why Seungmin was standing still right there but he didn’t say anything about it and stormed off to the bathroom.

Hyunjin did the very same thing for the next two weeks whenever they passed by each other, and Seungmin was baffled by the fact that he let it happen again, every single time,  _ willingly _ . 

Of course he would pretend not noticing Hyunjin was coming his way.

He decided he liked it, for no reason at all.

“You seem happier these days. Did something good happen?” Yeji nudged Seungmin’s elbow once she took a seat next to the boy, who was staring into nothing but air, having a little smile at the corner of his lips.

“Uh. Nothing happened,” Seungmin replied almost frantically, distracting himself by trying to read the History of Magic book. 

Yeji decided she won’t be having any of Seungmin’s bullshit today. She reached her hand forward and swiftly closed Seungmin’s open book, startling the boy. She pulled the book toward her after that, diverting Seungmin’s attention to herself.

“Something obviously happened. Your face seems a lot brighter than the last two weeks. And I noticed, if you’re going to ask. Now, tell me what’s that something.” 

Yeji looked straight at Seungmin with her sharp eyes, making Seungmin sighed in defeat. He contemplated for a while before deciding to disclose to her when an enchanting note flew over their heads and fell on top of Yeji’s head, which then fell on the floor. Seungmin bent down and picked it up. Seeing Yeji’s name on the note, he passed it to her. 

“Must be the clowns from Gryffindor. What do they get doing this every week,” Yeji mumbled to herself in annoyance as she opened the note. Her eyes slightly widened, which soon filled with anger, fingers curled into a fist. She looked up and visibly panicked when her eyes met Seungmin’s, gaining full attention from the boy. Before Yeji could throw the note away, Seungmin already snatched it from her grip and began to read it.

There were two figures kissing in motion, the one with long hair was labeled as Yeji while the other was himself, and there was  _ The Ugly Don’t Deserve You  _ written at the bottom of the note,  _ Love, Han Jisung, a Gryffindor _ next to it. 

Seconds after, Seungmin heard an enthusiastic cheer and loud claps from the back of the classroom –where the Gryffindor clowns were always seated. Seungmin whipped his head to the back, promptly sending a death glare to those clowns, but those clowns cheered even louder, infuriating him further. From the corner of his eyes, he noticed Hyunjin, who was sitting next to his best friend –the head clown of them, Han Jisung– was sitting quietly in his seat, hanging his head low with his two hands holding on to his head. He turned his head to the front.

Seungmin huffed in anger when he crumpled the note, throwing it away. He slid his hand into his robe and took out his wand, pointing it to the crumpled note on the floor and lifted it up in the air. 

“ _ Incendio! _ ” he waved his wand and charmed, setting the note on fire and burning it away.

The whole class fell into silence watching the note burn into ashes. Before anyone could say or make any sound at all, Professor Binns came in and began the class immediately.

At this point, Seungmin began to question whether Hyunjin’s actions were genuine at all, or the Gryffindor was simply playing a prank on him.


	2. Enchanting note

It was Saturday, and Seungmin decided to skip breakfast for the first time in a while, telling Eunsung –one of his roommates– he was feeling under the weather. The latter didn’t ask further questions at the former as it was something Seungmin would do from time to time without much explanation. As soon as Eunsung left their room, Seungmin buried himself under the blanket. 

Seungmin didn’t stay in bed often; he only did when he was physically and mentally exhausted. The previous week had drained so much energy from him –from the prefect duties to the preparation for upcoming O.W.Ls exam, and with addition of Gryffindors’ endless pranks in between. He was glad he didn’t have any interest in Quidditch, or otherwise, he would be dead by now, not literally, obviously.

Not long after Eunsung left, Seungmin heard the door creaked open and a few footsteps walking in before feeling a dip on the side of his bed. For the next few minutes, there was only silence. Out of curiosity –though Seungmin kind of knew who it would be– he peeked through his blanket and took a glimpse of whoever was sitting on his bed at the moment. 

He was right; it was no other than Minho. 

Minho was just sitting there, looking ahead and not saying anything at all. 

“Minho, leave me alone.”

“You know I won’t.”

Seungmin groaned, but not exactly in annoyance, pulling the blanket over and letting it fall on his face.

“I heard you’ve been avoiding Yeji.”

Seungmin’s body stiffened upon the mention of Yeji. 

Minho was right. 

He had been avoiding Yeji since the incident in History of Magic class though the girl didn’t do anything wrong to him. Seungmin felt bad, obviously, but he couldn’t help feeling small every time he was reminded of the note. 

He knew he could just shrug it off, it was Gryffindors’ useless prank note anyway, but a part of his brain kept thinking about it and before he knew it, he couldn’t stop thinking about it. 

It _ate_ him, and he _hated_ it. 

Therefore, Seungmin opted to avoid Yeji whenever he could –to stop thinking about the note. 

And then there was also Hyunjin. He was one of those Gryffindors sitting at the back, who were always involved in making enchanting notes to Slytherins. Seungmin was partially wondering if Hyunjin was involved in sending Yeji the note too, because as far as he knew, the tall boy had stopped involving himself since the beginning of fourth year –Seungmin had no idea how he acquired this information, he guessed somehow someone had mentioned it to him. 

But, Seungmin couldn’t count him out because he was always with those Gryffindor clowns.

“Seungmin,” Minho called when Seungmin didn’t give any response at all.

Seungmin pushed his blanket away, forcing himself to sit up and letting out a heavy exhale. “Yeah, I did.”

“Why?”

“Didn’t Yeji tell you why?” Seungmin frowned, his eyebrows knitted together in slight confusion. “She should have gotten the idea by now.”

“No. How unbelievable it seemed, she didn’t tell me why. Maybe she has no idea as well,” Minho clarified firmly, looking at Seungmin in the eyes. Seungmin looked away, lowered his head and stared down at his blanket.

“It’s the Gryffindors,” Seungmin began, fingers starting to fiddle around the hem of his blanket. “They sent up a note to Yeji, mentioning me in it. They called me _The Ugly_. I mean, it doesn’t matter if they call me ugly⎯” 

Seungmin paused. Minho’s eyebrows rose.

“And…?”

“They think Yeji and I are dating, and that I don’t deserve her. I don’t care if they think we are dating but those words…made me feel small and worthless.”

Seungmin bit his lower lip after the revelation, not courageous enough to look up and meet Minho’s eyes. 

He felt exposed, yeah, exposed.

“Oh Seungmin,” Minho said in a gentle voice, moving forward and engulfing the younger boy into a tight embrace despite Seungmin trying to pull himself away from the warmth they shared. Minho only held the boy tighter seeing how he was reluctant, patting his back slowly and lightly.

Seungmin gave up and let himself be in someone’s warmth for once, naturally resting his chin on the older’s shoulder with arms slowly wrapping around Minho’s body. 

There was no tear; just a wee bit of sadness and emptiness.

“It doesn’t help that the boy that threw glances at me is a Gryffindor. After flirting with me, if I could even call one, those Gryffindor clowns threw the note, and I don’t even know if he’s involved with them.”

Seungmin didn’t mean to tell Minho that. It was a slip up, if anything. It was all coming from his subconscious, he believed. He gasped only when it was too late to cover them up. 

Minho immediately pulled away and held onto Seungmin’s shoulders, meeting the younger’s scared and worried eyes.

“He did what? Flirted with you? How?” Minho bombarded those questions excitedly. His doe eyes were as wide as they could be and were sparkling the brightest Seungmin had ever seen –other than the time he saw his first love, his now-boyfriend, for the first time. 

He was very much expectant and enthusiastic, to Seungmin’s surprise. Seungmin was hesitant for a moment whether to proceed or to make up some lame excuses, again.

“He…grazed his fingers lightly against mine and tugged my pinky finger when we passed by each other.”

Minho’s eyes brightened at the revelation. It became even brighter when Seungmin mentioned this.

“He winked, too.”

The younger’s heart rate started to pick up when he was reminded of the memory of getting, not one, but several winks from Hyunjin, cheeks beginning to flush in crimson red. 

Why was _he_ the one who felt embarrassed?

“And you like it,” Minho said, lips curling into the biggest grin he could pull, showing his set of teeth after seeing the blush dusted on Seungmin’s cheeks and the tip of his ears. “That explained you being all smileys the last two weeks.”

Seungmin looked down at his fiddling fingers in embarrassment, lips naturally formed a small shy smile. But it didn’t last long as panic consumed him; because he had told Minho that Hyunjin was a Gryffindor and fifth year students weren't supposed to befriend each other, let alone dating each other. Seungmin looked up at Minho with a worried look, and the older boy seemed to catch his expression.

“Screw that stupid hate ordeal. You can like and date anyone from Gryffindor. Even fifth years. Don’t let that stop you.”

Seungmin’s lips quickly quirked upward, hugging the older tightly in an instant. “Thank you, Minho.”

Minho smiled, patting Seungmin’s back lightly. 

“But–”

“You are worried about him being one of those Gryffindor clowns, aren’t you?” Minho questioned, smiling knowingly. Seungmin hummed in response. “Don’t worry about him. He isn’t one of them.”

Seungmin leaned back, pulling away from their hug and meeting Minho’s eyes. He gazed at the older boy with his pair of curious eyes. “How do you know?”

Minho gave him a fond smile. “Secret,” he said and winked, earning an annoyed groan and eyes rolling from the younger. “You want to tag along to Hogsmeade today?”

“And third-wheeling your date with Chan? Yikes, no thanks. I need some _me time_ ,” Seungmin said as he laid his body back on the bed, pulling his blanket over his head. 

“Say hi to Chan for me,” he told him in a muffled voice, the blanket rustling all over as he changed his position. Minho could only shake his head and chuckle watching the younger before he stood and left.

  
  
  


~***~

  
  
  


“Hey, Felix. Sorry I was late,” Seungmin said apologetically as he set his things on the table, occupied by a blond haired boy, who was looking up at him with his big eyes and an amused expression, “The Head Boy suddenly called for prefects’ emergency meeting so I had to be there.” 

Seungmin let out a tired sigh and plopped himself on the chair next to Felix, catching his breath. He had walked so fast, almost running actually ⎯in order to not be late as he preferred to be on time⎯ that he was a little out of breath when he reached the library. 

Felix shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t really mind. You’re only late for like thirty minutes. We have the rest of the day anyway.”

Seungmin’s eyes fell on the open book on the table in front of Felix. There was a parchment paper with messy handwriting next to it. 

“You have started revising?” he asked.

Felix nodded, promptly glancing at his own notes. “A little bit. Believe me when I say it’s going nowhere without you.”

A chuckle escaped from Seungmin’s lips as he shook his head in disbelief. “I believe you. What would you do without me honestly?”

“I have no idea. I probably won’t survive Ancient Runes class at all,” the blond replied with a hearty laugh. Felix grinned brightly, showing his set of teeth. “Glad having you to tutor me every week though.”

“Bet you already dropped the class if I didn’t offer to tutor you last year.” Seungmin raised his eyebrows, lips stretching into a knowing smile.

Felix let out a giggle, “I would, probably?”

_They were in the second term of fourth year when Seungmin came up to Felix one day in the library. Felix was studying by himself, accompanied by his white fur, gold eyes cat he called Felicia, who was quietly sleeping on the table next to Felix’s books. When Seungmin first saw the white cat by Felix’s side, he was amused and wondered how Felix sneaked her in, given how strict Madam Pince, the librarian, was when it was about the books in the library, but on second thought, he wondered if Madam Pince ever allowed any animals inside because there were no written rules about it, and nobody had ever brought animals in before, until Felix._

_Seungmin wasn’t someone who made a fuss so he didn’t say anything about it. Since the table he chose to study was at the same table as Felix’s, he would glance at the cute cat from time to time. It did seem like the cat loved sleeping a lot because all Seungmin had seen it done was sleeping._

_Felicia was sure a good study buddy._

_Seungmin had heard a few sighs for over half an hour when he was doing homework for the Arithmancy subject. He wasn’t bothered by it at first but after fifteen minutes, the sigh started to irritate him. There was no one else but Felix at the long table with him. Seungmin glanced over and saw that Felix was doing homework for Ancient Runes, watching the boy running his hand over his blond hair out of frustration. Seungmin scooted closer to Felix._

_He didn’t think, he only acted._

_“Do you need help?”_

_Seungmin’s low and steady voice had completely shocked the blond boy as Felix moved backward with his hands up defensively, like he was going to fight someone, staring at Seungmin wide eyed, lips slightly parted. Seungmin almost burst into laughter when he saw Felix’s reaction but he held it in, trying not to cause commotion that possibly could get them kicked out from the library._

_“Oh, Seungmin, it’s just you.”_

_Felix let out a relief breath he didn’t know he was holding and closed his eyes in relief, bringing his hands to his chest and tried to calm himself down. He opened his eyes to see Seungmin was looking at him with an apologetic smile._

_“Sorry if I shocked you. I didn’t mean it.”_

_Felix let out a nervous laugh and waved his hands off. “No, no. It’s just me. I’m easily spooked out. That’s all.”_

_“Were you about to fight the ghost then? Seeing your reaction just now?” Seungmin said with his neutral expression._

_The blond boy giggled softly and shrugged._

_“It’s a reflex. I can’t do anything about it. Anyway, what were you saying earlier? I didn’t quite catch it,” Felix said._

_“Do you need help? With Ancient Runes?” Seungmin gestured toward the open book in front of Felix. Felix promptly glanced at his book and scratched his head._

_“Yeah. It’s hard for me to understand it. But, once I understand, then it’s good because I have a good memory,” he confessed, sighing for the nth time._

_“If it’s hard to understand, why are you still taking Ancient Runes then?” Seungmin asked out of curiosity._

_“It’s fun. I like it. I’m just bad at understanding. It was still fine last year but this year, the subject gets a little harder. So yeah, I’m struggling with it big time.”_

_Felix chewed his lips anxiously, thinking about how he would have to drop it if he failed the subject this year, given how they were going to have O.W.Ls exam the next year._

_“Would you like me to tutor you?” Seungmin offered, gazing straight into Felix’s eyes and blinking a few times as he waited for the blond’s response._

_In all honesty, this tutoring thing was actually outside of his comfort zone. Sure, he had taught a few times when some students came up to him but this kind of commitment was a first. He wasn’t sure why he wanted to help Felix in the first place._

_Felix’s eyes brightened, glistening like actual stars living in his eyes. He eagerly nodded and agreed easily. He wasn’t about to reject a top student’s offer to tutor him. Sharing Ancient Runes’ class together since third year, he knew how good Seungmin actually was in the subject, so he had no reason to not accept the offer. They had decided to have the tutoring on Sunday, and they continued to do so in the fifth year._

“I know a better book to explain about this,” Seungmin said in the midst of their tutoring, getting up from his seat and quickly strolling over to a section. 

When he passed by one section, the corner of his eyes caught a familiar figure sitting over at a table near a secluded corner. He knew who that was. Seungmin stopped his tracks and stepped backward, instinctively hiding behind the bookshelf, peeking through. 

He was right. 

It was Hyunjin with a fourth year Hufflepuff he had known as Jeongin. He had seen Hyunjin with the Hufflepuff boy a few times before. For some reason, he felt a prick in his heart. 

It didn’t sting, or hurt.

He didn’t know why he felt that way, he couldn’t explain if someone were to ask him right now. 

As he watched them, Seungmin figured that they were in some kind of discussion about something. Momentarily, he wondered if Hyunjin did tutoring too.

Seungmin found that...a little admirable. 

The thought of Hyunjin tutoring someone warmed his heart, a little.

Little did he know, a smile crept up on his face.

Seungmin returned to Felix with a book in his hand. Felix asked him what took him so long and Seungmin brushed it off and continued their lessons. With the upcoming O.W.Ls exam, they spent on studying a little more than usual, finishing off the tutoring session right before dinner. 

When Seungmin came back to retrieve his stuff after returning the book he had taken to its shelf, he found a bunch of chocolates and cakes on the table, consisted of; a box of chocolate cauldrons, two boxes of chocoballs, a box of Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans and cauldron cakes. 

He blinked in surprise seeing all of those. Felix returned a moment later.

“Are these yours?” Seungmin asked, pointing at the bunch of boxes in front of him. Felix shifted his gaze to the direction Seungmin pointed. 

“Wow. That’s a lot of chocolates. But, no. Not mine.” Felix shook his head and looked over. “Aren’t those your favorites?”

Seungmin hesitantly nodded. 

“Yeah, but⎯“ 

He paused immediately when he spotted a card in between the boxes, quickly reaching for the card and starting to read the handwritten note: 

_Heard you weren’t well and stayed in bed the whole day yesterday. Hope you feel better now. Have some chocolates and cakes. I know you like them very much, so I got them when I went to Hogsmeade yesterday. Enjoy._ _⎯_ _H_

Seungmin gasped softly, lips parted, eyes wide in surprise as he stared at the card motionless. His heart rate began to pick up, his cheeks heated up and flushed in crimson red. The corner of his lips unknowingly stretched into a small smile. 

He knew exactly who _H_ was, because other than Minho and Yeji, no one else had paid attention to him as much as Hyunjin did lately, and the question here was how the boy knew details about him that only his roommates, Minho and probably a few other Slytherins had known.

“Who was it from? H? Who’s H?”

Seungmin momentarily forgot that Felix was actually still standing next to him, peeking over Seungmin’s shoulders with Felicia in his arm and attempting to read the note with his amused expression.

“Oh Seungmin. Seems like you got yourself a secret admirer. How exciting,” Felix cooed as his lips curled into a bright grin, hand gently petting his sleeping cat.

Seungmin let out a nervous laughter and said nothing as he bit back a wider smile, quickly retracting the card and keeping it in his robe, then collecting the boxes on the table into his arms and ushering Felix to move along.

Seungmin spent the next week receiving one note per day through various ways from Hyunjin; when they passed by each other, Hyunjin would slide the note into his hand, or he would find the note in his bag, or it was slid in the books he usually borrowed from the library.

  
  


_Note 1_

_Hey beautiful. Hope you have a great day ahead – H_

  
  


_Note 2_

_I love when you smile. It blinds my eyes and gives butterflies in my stomach – H_

  
  


_Note 3_

_I woke up to a bright sunlight today and first thing I do was thinking about you – H_

  
  


_Note 4_

_I wish we could be friends…or more. Why in the world do the houses of our year need to be sworn enemies :( – H_

  
  


After receiving the fourth note, Seungmin decided to write a note back to Hyunjin after contemplating for hours whether he should do it or not. He felt like it wasn’t fair that only Hyunjin had been sending him the notes. Hyunjin must have wanted to know what he was feeling too. 

In all honesty, Seungmin wished to be friends with Hyunjin too, or _more_. 

But, there were risks. High risks. 

Seungmin tore up a small parchment paper and picked up a quill, and began writing. He was willing to take those risks in exchange for befriending Hyunjin, _or more_.

  
  


_Let’s be friends…or more – S_

  
  


The next week in History of Magic class, Seungmin unexpectedly received an enchanting note, sent by Hyunjin himself. He watched the note clumsily landed on his desk. Seungmin turned his head to the back to catch Hyunjin looking at him expectantly despite seeming all cocky, gesturing him to open the note, with a smirk on his lips. 

Seungmin bit his lower lip as his anxiety rose, carefully unfolding the note, afraid of what he was about to read, afraid if all those flirting Hyunjin had done were nothing but pranks. He warily read:

  
  


_Pretend to be disgusted by this note please? It’s better if you crumple and burn it like last time, oh wait you can’t burn it, we’re in the middle of the class :( These guys forced me to do those useless pranks on you, but I’m not going to do that. I’m not going to ruin the kind of momentum that we have built now._

_PS: Um, can we meet at Astronomy Tower on Friday night? After your daily patrol, of course. I’ll be there, waiting ;)_

_PPS: Now, please crumple this note or something. Gotta make it believable that I actually pulled a prank on you. Please?_

_Love,_

_Hwang Hyunjin, a Gryffindor obviously._


	3. To go or not to go

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a little note if you haven't noticed, this fic is Seungmin-centric, so everything is from Seungmin's perspective only. Alright, enjoy reading! Kudos and comments are very much appreciated!

The room was dark as it was already past midnight, but Seungmin couldn’t sleep. All his roommates had drifted to dreamland since two hours ago, not that he counted in his head. Their soft snoring could be heard throughout the quiet room as Seungmin closed his eyes, trying his best to fall asleep.

Seungmin shifted, the blanket rustling over him. After a few tossing and turning, he sighed heavily and sat up, eventually giving up on falling asleep as he climbed down his bed, picked up his jacket and quietly walked out of the room, making his way to the common room. He didn’t forget to bring along a book he had always read. Books helped him to collect his thoughts and kept his mind at peace before going to sleep. It was a routine he kept up with since he got into Hogwarts, otherwise he couldn’t sleep at all.

Seungmin stared unblinking at the crumpled note sent by Hyunjin in his hands, millions of thoughts wilding through his mind as he sat on the couch by the fireplace, the reddish orange light illuminated his face. 

It was clear why he couldn’t sleep; he couldn’t stop thinking about the content of the note, particularly the one which Hyunjin had asked him to meet up at Astronomy Tower after his patrol tomorrow night.

_Yes_ , _tomorrow night_.

His heart rate began to pick up at the thought of meeting Hyunjin face to face by himself, just two of them alone, by themselves. He almost never talked to Hyunjin except those three or four times when they were partnered up together for their homework or class work and that was it. There was nothing more, until recently when Hyunjin began to pay him more attention than he ever imagined.

It was nerve-wracking and flattering at the same time.

The signals Hyunjin had been sending to him for the past weeks were nothing but pure interest in him, but he couldn’t help feeling anxious. Seungmin knew he had interpreted the tall boy’s signals correctly, with the help of Minho, he was still worried nonetheless.

Seungmin was afraid if Hyunjin was playing pranks with him –particularly with his heart– if anything.

There was a part of him wanting to trust Hyunjin, and there was another part of him still doubting him.

For once, Seungmin wanted to give his heart and believe in the Gryffindor.

~***~

After the patrol, with a loudly thumping heart, Seungmin quietly and nervously made his way to the Astronomy Tower, making sure he didn’t bump into anyone along the way. Fortunately, the corridors were clear because since he became a prefect, he had caught a number of students who were out of bed, trying to sneak to various places, particularly fourth years and above. He mostly sent them back to their respective dormitories without taking their house points, except for a few repeat offenders who he had caught more than three times.

Seungmin found himself standing in front of the door of the Astronomy Tower and he was beginning to question his decision all over again as he nervously chewed his lower lip, fingers fiddling with the hem of his jacket. He thought it was a wee bit ridiculous to meet Hyunjin in his robe, so he went to change into casual clothes before sneaking out.

Despite still having doubts, Seungmin went ahead and proceeded with his decision to meet Hyunjin.

He took a deep breath and breathed out at once as he slowly pushed the door open, producing a creak sound, he then stepped into the room.

There Hyunjin was, standing straight and still, facing Seungmin with his arms falling by his sides. He couldn’t see Hyunjin’s face clearly, his back was illuminated by the moonlight. From Seungmin’s point of view, Hyunjin was standing quite funnily, but then, he noticed the tall boy standing the same way as before.

Seungmin stood there, not knowing what to do. He saw the corner of Hyunjin’s lips curled upward, forming a bright smile. He hesitantly raised his right hand.

“Hi, Seungmin,” he said in a gentle voice, and Seungmin was a bit taken aback and _lowkey_ wanted to melt into puddles right there already when he heard Hyunjin’s attractive voice calling his name.

When did he last hear the Gryffindor’s voice this clearly?

Seungmin internally pulled himself together, raised his right hand the same way Hyunjin did and bashfully greeted back, “…hi, Hyunjin.”

Hyunjin let out a soft nervous chuckle, hand instinctively going to the back of his nape. “Well, this is awkward.”

Seungmin, too, chuckled softly. He was a little bit nervous, and anxious. “It is.”

Hyunjin stared at him in awe for a moment, lips slightly parted, before shaking his head, seeming to collect himself. “Want to watch the stars with me?” he asked, attempting to ease the awkwardness between the two of them.

“Sure,” Seungmin answered, taking a few steps toward Hyunjin. Hyunjin seated himself comfortably and patted a space next to him, to which Seungmin gladly seated himself down, keeping a little distance between their bodies. He looked up at the night sky, eyes spotting several twinkling stars.

“Do you come here often?” he asked.

“No, not really.” Hyunjin shook his head. “Frankly speaking, I’m not a fan of Astronomy, but I like stargazing. I watch them a lot back at home.”

“Oh, really? I like stargazing too. My older sister owns a huge telescope. I would sometimes use it when she’s not around.”

Hyunjin snickered in amusement.

“Do you have a favorite constellation? Mine is Virgo,” said Seungmin.

“Oh. I like Aries. Nice and simple.” Hyunjin turned his head to look at Seungmin in the eyes, admiring the pretty face illuminated by the moonlight before his eyes. It was probably the first time he had seated this close to the brunette haired boy. “Why do you like Virgo? Is it because it’s your zodiac?”

“Yeah. I was born on September 22nd,” Seungmin admitted casually.

He was getting more comfortable talking to the Gryffindor. Noticing Hyunjin was looking at him from the corner of his eyes, he turned and made eye contact with Hyunjin, slightly tilting his head. “Is Aries your zodiac?”

“No no. I’m a Pisces. March 20th,” Hyunjin told him, waving off a hand. A bright grin crept up on his face, eyes crinkling into pretty crescent shapes. “I just like Aries constellation. It’s pretty. Like you.”

Seungmin was sure his heart stopped, or at least skipped two beats.

“You can’t just do that,” he said frantically, unknowingly holding his breath and his cheeks began to heat up in embarrassment as he looked away.

Hyunjin’s nonverbal flirting had always flustered him enough, let alone the verbal one, and right in his face. It was a bad decision meeting Hyunjin, he deduced.

_Good_ kind of bad.

“Why? You _are_ pretty.” The words flowed out of Hyunjin’s lips naturally like he was born to say it.

“Not _boldly_ like that.”

“Oh, you want me to be more subtle?” Hyunjin asked, giving him a curious look and tilting his head slightly.

Seungmin didn’t respond. He kept his gaze straight on the night sky, not budging at all as he felt Hyunjin’s gaze on him. Responding to Hyunjin’s question was only going to give the Gryffindor more ideas, and Seungmin wasn’t going to have any of it.

His heart rate was beginning to slow down and beating normally when he felt a warm breath tickle his right ear, along with something soft grazing his earlobe in flash.

“You are beautiful.”

Hyunjin had whispered, in extremely close distance, lips grazing against Seungmin’s earlobe on purpose before he quickly retracted to his original position.

_That_ sent a shiver to the core of Seungmin’s spine.

Seungmin choked on air before he moved backward in shock, eyes immediately grew, staring wide eyed at Hyunjin in disbelief.

If his face could get even redder, then it was turning redder than ever.

Hyunjin watched the Slytherin with his smug grin, proud at himself for successfully making Seungmin flustered. He made a mental note to do that again sometimes in future, just because he liked it.

_PAK!_

“Ow!” Hyunjin winced in pain, softly rubbing his shoulder. “What was that for?” He looked at Seungmin in confusion, knitting his eyebrows together, eyes asking for an explanation. Seungmin had just smacked his shoulder, loudly and a little too strongly.

“More subtle isn’t more seductive!” Seungmin huffed, shaking his head in irritation.

Hyunjin burst into a joyful giggle at the remark, his head throwing back and his eyes crinkling into crescents. The room was filled with only his giggles for the next few minutes, and Seungmin made no attempt to stop the tall boy, because he thought Hyunjin’s giggle was _unbelievably_ cute, and soothing to his ears.

It made him want to listen more.

“How did you know I wasn’t well that Saturday? I mean, from who you obtained the information? Because I don’t think there were many who knew that I stayed in bed the whole day. Was it Minho?” Seungmin asked.

He was indeed suspicious of the older boy ever since Seungmin told Minho about Hyunjin. But, he couldn’t figure out what was the connection between Hyunjin and Minho.

Hyunjin let out a nervous laughter, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. “I can’t tell you though. I’m going to get scolded if I do,” he said, biting his lower lip.

Seungmin shot a sharp glare to the tall boy, pointing out his index finger near Hyunjin’s cheek, to the point almost touching. “Let’s not be friends then if you insist on not telling me. Hmph.” 

He whipped his head away, eyes looking far to the night sky, deliberately ignoring the boy next to him.

“Alright alright.” Hyunjin gave up, slightly holding onto Seungmin’s arm and releasing it after. “I’ll tell you, alright? I’d rather get scolded than not befriending you like this.”

Seungmin bit back a smile hearing what Hyunjin said. At this rate, he’d probably fall in love faster than he thought. He turned his head and looked at Hyunjin expectantly, anticipating his next words.

“Yeji. It was Yeji.” Hyunjin grinned nervously, looking forward for Seungmin’s reaction. Seungmin’s eyes widened in mild surprise, lips parted.

“Oh. That was…surprising. Didn’t imagine that it would be her…,” he mumbled, blinking his eyes a few times in disbelief. “Did she know about….?”

“You and me? I didn’t tell her anything but I guess she just sensed it? She just randomly came to me on that Saturday and mumbled about how you skipped breakfast and you’re probably staying in the bed the whole day, and then she walked away. Oh, she threatened me to not tell anyone though. Now that I think again, it was absolutely not random. I think she already knew.” 

Hyunjin chuckled, shaking his head at the thought of the Slytherin girl giving away information about Seungmin just like that. “She probably thought I would want to do something about it.”

Seungmin’s body stiffened after hearing that from Hyunjin. Despite Seungmin ignoring her, Yeji still cared to talk about him. He felt bad for Yeji. He had always felt bad for doing what he had done to his Slytherin friend. 

But, he had no courage to face the girl just yet.

“Are you…two friends?” Seungmin asked, his eyes fixating at Hyunjin in confusion, unblinking. Realizing it was a _slightly_ dumb question because fifth years Slytherin and Gryffindor couldn’t be friends, he added, “…or what?”

“We’re distant cousins…? Something like that.”

Another surprise.

“Oh. I never knew. Yeji never mentioned it to me.”

“Yeah…with the hate ordeal between our houses, I understand why she never mentioned it. Are you two still in the cold?”

“Oh. She told you that?”

Hyunjin shook his head. “No. I noticed, you know. I was so used to seeing both of you so close together and suddenly you guys aren’t talking to each other that much anymore.”

“Was I being obvious?”

“Yeah, a bit. At least to me. Not that I know if anyone else notices.”

Seungmin was silent, staring down at the floor as he chewed the inside of his cheeks.

“Seungmin,” Hyunjin called, and Seungmin hummed in response. “I’m sorry about the note. My friends were mean. Jisung was.”

“No, it’s not your fault, wasn’t it? It was theirs, so you don’t need to apologize,” Seungmin said, giving Hyunjin a strained smile.

Hyunjin took Seungmin’s hand in his, placing his other hand on top of Seungmin’s. The action flustered Seungmin. He felt his cheeks were slightly burning at the touch. Not that he minded.

It was just…was he always this _easily_ flustered?

Hyunjin smiled apologetically. “I know. I still want to apologize for not stopping them.”

Seungmin hesitated for a moment before placing his other hand on top of Hyunjin’s, looking up and meeting the Gryffindor’s eyes. “Okay. I accept your apology.”

He flashed a soft smile.

“Thank you for the chocolates and cakes by the way. I enjoyed them very much,” Seungmin said, smiling gratefully. “I’m guessing Yeji told you all my favorites?”

“Uh…about that,” Hyunjin paused, blinking his eyes rapidly, earning a raised eyebrow from Seungmin. “That was Minho. He came to me while I was in the shop, choosing sweets for you after Yeji had informed me about you being sick. Minho told me what your favorites are and even helped me to choose them. Did you tell him about me?” Hyunjin asked, with a giddy smile on his face. He was ecstatic to know that Seungmin did talk about him, or at least mentioned about him to someone else.

“Absolutely not. I mean, I did mention you being a Gryffindor but I never actually told him your name. I wonder how he found out.”

It was two hours later when they decided to call it a day and return to their respective dormitories. Hyunjin said something along not wanting to stop and continue their conversation until the sun rose. Seungmin firmly said no because he had studying to do in the morning, therefore, he needed sleep, otherwise he would be sleeping the whole day. Seungmin told Hyunjin to get some sleep and study too because their O.W.Ls exam was nearing.

“Can I have your number?” Hyunjin asked when they were going down the stairs. The stairway was beamed by the light of the tips of their wands. “I think it’ll be easier for us, you know, chat with each other.”

“Uh, what number?” Seungmin sounded unsure at Hyunjin’s question.

“Phone number?”

“Oh,” Seungmin paused and slowed down his pace, finally to a halt, and Hyunjin followed suit. He turned his head and looked at Hyunjin, blinking his eyes a few times. “I don’t have a phone.”

Hyunjin gasped dramatically, lips parted, hand instinctively covering his open mouth in mild surprise. “Wait. What? Really? In this century when internet is everything?”

Seungmin nodded slowly, quite not catching why Hyunjin was that surprised. “My family doesn’t really use electronic devices. I guess growing up in a pureblood family did influence me a bit. Besides, I don’t think the place I live has that much line coverage. A phone would be practically useless around my house.”

“Oh…” Hyunjin didn’t say anything more, but he was visibly disappointed on not getting Seungmin’s number.

Seungmin’s lips quirked upward into a fond smile. “That’s okay. We can meet often like this to talk. Besides, this way will give us a chance to….,” his voice trailed off, wondering if he should say it or not. He wanted to say it but–

“…to?” Hyunjin asked, tilting his head and looking at him in anticipation. He blinked, _cutel_ y.

“…to miss each other.”

A giddy smile immediately crept on Hyunjin’s face, his eyes crinkling into crescents. 

“Are you going to miss me already?” he asked in a teasing tone.

Seungmin rolled his eyes, starting to go down the stairs. “No. Not yet.”

“Are you sure, Seungmin?”

“Uh uh.” Seungmin pretended he didn’t hear that and kept going down until something stopped him again.

Curious, Hyunjin leaned forward and saw an orange cat on a step below Seungmin.

“Oh, hey Soonie,” the Slytherin cooed, squatting down and cradling the cat in his arms, and he then turned to Hyunjin.

Instinctively Hyunjin backed away in instant, covering his nose and mouth with his one hand. “I have allergy to cat fur,” he mumbled in a muffled voice.

“Oh, really?”

Hyunjin nodded, still having his hand on half of his face. “This cat is yours?”

Seungmin shook his head. “No, it’s Minho’s. Her name is Soonie. I guess you should keep a little distance from me then? Don’t want to get you sick and all.”

Getting an affirmed nod from Hyunjin, Seungmin turned on his heel and began to walk again with Hyunjin followed timidly from behind.

~***~

Seungmin was leisurely enjoying his breakfast when a certain Slytherin took a seat in front of him, effectively blocking his view to the Gryffindor table, which he had been exchanging few affectionate glances and little smiles with a certain Gryffindor across the Great Hall. Yeah, they were doing that in _the_ Great Hall where everyone could notice.

Was that the power of infatuation? He cared, but he didn’t really care?

Seungmin was a tiny wee bit impressed that Hyunjin managed to wake up early despite sleeping really late the night before.

“It’s unusual for you to have breakfast _with_ me, Minho,” Seungmin said, deadpan. He raised an eyebrow and gave the older boy a questioning look before shifting his attention back to his food.

“It’s unusual of you to have that little smile when it’s so early in the morning,” Minho said with a knowing smirk, taking a bite of a pasty in his hand.

“Why? Can’t I be happy once in a while?”

“I didn’t say you can’t,” Minho replied, casually munching the food in his mouth. “Come on, spill it. Where did you go last night after your patrol?” he asked, sounding almost like a whisper.

Seungmin paused and looked up at Minho, meeting his bright curious pair of eyes. He frowned and asked, “How did you even know? Did you spy on me or something?”

Minho rolled his eyes in annoyance, swallowing down the food in his mouth before he spoke. “Seungmin, please. I have my sources, alright?”

Seungmin shook his head and puffed his cheeks, ultimately deciding to tell Minho as the older had been his listener since the very beginning. He would have forced Seungmin to tell him anyway.

“Astronomy Tower. We met there and talked,” he revealed timidly, sounding very shy. He averted Minho’s gaze on him, mindlessly poking the sausage on the plate with the fork to ease up his rising anxiety.

“No kiss?” Minho asked determinedly, leaning forward in anticipation. He looked at Seungmin unblinking.

“What?” Seungmin frowned. “No!” he hissed defensively, voice got a little too loud, earning themselves a few gazes from the students around them. Their gazes didn’t linger as they returned to their respective conversations, and Seungmin was thankful for that.

“Ah. Disappointing.” Minho clicked his tongue and shook his head in dismay, leaning back. He picked a sausage with a fork and stuffed his mouth. “I thought you’re better than this.”

Seungmin rolled his eyes, annoyed. “We literally met for the first time, Minho.”

Minho shrugged his shoulders. “So what? You can’t kiss on your first date?”

“It’s not a da–“

"I know it's a date when I see one. How was it? Your first date?" Minho wiggled his eyebrows teasingly.

Seungmin puffed his cheeks in irritation. "It wasn't—"

"Oh, come on Kim Seungmin. Wouldn't you want it to be a date? Look at me in the eyes and tell me you don't." 

Seungmin pressed his lips into a firm line before he let out an exasperated sigh, knowing well how right Lee Minho was. He _lowke_ y wanted their first meeting to be a date, because in their odd circumstances, it could be considered as a date, though he wasn't sure meeting up at Astronomy Tower after midnight consisted of nothing but talking could really be a date. 

Minho snickered watching the younger frowning all over and drowning in his own thoughts. "Seungmin, are you still here with me? Or are you already with your lover boy?" he asked in a teasing tone, smirking. 

Seungmin looked away, cheeks already dusted with light pink blush. "He's not my lover boy," he hissed.

"Well, soon to be. Answer me. How was it? What did you guys do?"

"It was...well, great actually. We did stargazing at first, but then we just talked, and talked. Hyunjin wanted to talk until the sun rose, but I called it a day, because I obviously got studying to do," Seungmin finished it with a fond smile, remembering how the Gryffindor had cutely begged him to stay. As much as he wanted it too, he couldn’t exactly agree to Hyunjin’s request.

“So…do you like him?”

Seungmin shrugged his shoulders. “Honestly, I don’t know. I like his company though. He made me feel at ease, comfortable. And…”

Minho raised an eyebrow in curiosity, resting his chin on his hands, gazing at Seungmin with his pair of doe eyes. “…and?”

“…and flustered, a lot actually, in a good way of course, I think. Hyunjin is…,” Seungmin paused, trying to find a good word to say without it sounding bad, “…very flirty.”

Minho laughed at his last remark. “He seems like it.”

“I don’t even know if I’m easily flustered or he’s just too good at flirting.” A chuckle escaped Seungmin’s lips and he shook his head.

“Probably both,” the older boy grinned. “Are you going to keep on meeting him?”

Seungmin stayed silent, thinking through whether he wanted to keep on meeting the Gryffindor. They had taken the hardest first step, so the next step wouldn’t be that hard, _right_?

And, Seungmin wanted to; to meet and have a conversation with Hyunjin again.

“Um, if he asks me again?” he finally decided, lips curling into a small smile.

Minho had a smug grin on his face as he leaned forward, whispering softly into the younger’s ear. “Why don’t you be the one who asks for the second date?”

And Seungmin did, the next weekend.


	4. Second date

_Meet me at Clock Tower Courtyard at seven o’clock in the morning – S_

It was Saturday morning when Seungmin dragged his body out of his beloved comfy bed, feeling all giddy while heading straight to the bathroom to wash himself. He changed his pajamas into a baby blue hoodie and comfortable black trousers. As much as he wanted to impress Hyunjin with his appearance, the weather was very chilly in the morning and his health should have come first compared to how Hyunjin might see him.

Seungmin seated himself at the broken fountain in the middle of the courtyard, looking up at the giant clock above his head with his arms folded across his chest, keeping himself warm. Five minutes before seven, he read.

He waited, and waited.

Ten minutes passed since the giant clock hit seven, the sun was beginning to strike its ray, but there was no sign of Hyunjin at all. Seungmin bit his lips anxiously, the back of his mind began to wonder if Hyunjin was ditching him. He didn’t want to think of the worse but he was already thinking about it.

He was afraid if later Hyunjin came up to him, admitted that everything was a prank all along, and laughed at him for his foolishness. He wasn’t ready for that.

Hell, he was never ready for that.

Seungmin decided to wait for another five minutes, but Hyunjin didn’t show up.

Lifting his hoodie up to his head, he swallowed the hard lump forming in his throat and breathed out heavily, blinking rapidly to contain his freshly forming tears in his eyes, feeling like a total idiot for trusting the tall boy. He was disappointed that he let himself be fooled, feeling a sharp stab in the core of his heart, and it stung, _so much_. He slid his hands into his pocket and rose from the fountain he was sitting at, starting to walk away.

“Seungmin, wait!” he heard a hoarse voice yelling out his name, with panting in between as if the owner of the voice was running to get themselves there as soon as possible so that they wouldn’t miss him. Seungmin stopped his tracks immediately, turning on his heel to see an apologetically grinning Hyunjin who was trying to catch his breath.

“I have no excuse for being late. Thank you for waiting for me, and I’m sorry,” Hyunjin rambled at once, breathing hard in between his words, grinning so brightly that his eyes turned into pretty crescent shapes.

Seungmin’s tears fell.

He didn’t mean to let them fall, but they were already welling up in his eyes, and Hyunjin’s appearance had made his feelings overloaded and all over the places. For a boy who he had a long conversation only once with flirting in between, Seungmin was sure he felt a little too strongly for Hyunjin. His heart perhaps had grown to like the boy more than he thought.

Besides, who the hell cried on their second date?!

Hyunjin’s expression fell when he saw the tears rolling down Seungmin’s cheeks, instantly marched forward and without hesitation, he engulfed Seungmin into his embrace, not caring of what the Slytherin would think of him, or his reaction, for that matter.

The tall boy’s action had Seungmin cried out harder, burying his face onto Hyunjin’s shoulder, with his arms being kept on his side, fingers holding to the hem of his own hoodie, he stood in there, unmoving.

He didn’t care if he ended up soaking the Gryffindor’s grey hoodie.

He just wanted to cry.

It was a mix of disappointment and grateful Seungmin was feeling at the moment. Earlier he was disappointed because he thought Hyunjin didn’t show up, but now he was grateful that Hyunjin didn’t ditch him like he had imagined. The combination of these two emotions together weren’t very welcoming.

Seungmin was convinced now that Hyunjin was genuine.

He lifted his head up, taking a step backward and wiping out the remaining tears on his cheeks as Hyunjin loosened his embrace, placing his hands on Seungmin’s shoulders. Seungmin looked up and met Hyunjin’s worried eyes, his eyes were red, and so was his nose. A wave of embarrassment suddenly hit him like a truck. Quickly, he raised his hands and covered up his flushed face, quietly sniffling.

Boy, was he embarrassed by the whole ordeal? Completely, and absolutely.

“Merlin’s Beard, this is embarrassing,” he mumbled in despair, earning a soft giggle from the tall boy.

“You look cute, though.”

“Hyunjin, no. This is not the time,” Seungmin whined softly, lightly hitting him on his chest, making the Gryffindor giggle even louder.

Hyunjin lifted up his hand and brought it near to Seungmin’s face, dabbing away the few leftover streak of tears with the hem of his sleeve. “Do you want to tell me what’s bothering you?” he carefully asked. “I’m here listening.”

Seungmin was silent for a moment, collecting his thoughts. He stared down at their feet, fingers fiddling his hoodie. “I thought you won’t show up. I thought you were pulling a prank on me,” his voice was shaky, and it was obvious enough for Hyunjin to notice.

“Seungmin, look at me,” Hyunjin muttered in his steady and soft voice, his both hands firmly holding to the boy’s shoulders. Seungmin was hesitant, but then he lifted his head up and met Hyunjin’s soft gaze.

Hyunjin’s eyes were dark brown, glistening bright and pretty, and Seungmin felt like he was drowning in the tall boy’s eyes, deeper and deeper.

“I promise I won’t be late again, alright?”

Hyunjin flashed a reassuring smile, convincing the Slytherin that he was genuine about it, that he wasn’t pulling a prank on him. The corner of Seungmin’s lips stretched into a small smile as he nodded. Seungmin finally managed to look at Hyunjin properly –he would have noticed the boy’s image earlier if he wasn’t busy crying and…for the lack of better word, sulking.

Hyunjin’s face was slightly puffy, his eyes seemed a little sleepy –he had probably seemed sleepier ten minutes ago– and his raven hair was pretty much disheveled, despite hidden underneath the hoodie. Seungmin smiled softly at the sight of disheveled Hyunjin. The tall boy probably woke up late which resulted in almost missing him by seconds.

When he thought back to Hyunjin saying he had no excuse, Seungmin briefly thought it was sweet of him to say so.

Seungmin raised his hands up, reaching for Hyunjin’s hoodie and swept it away from Hyunjin’s hair, with the Gryffindor blinking at him in confusion.

“Wha–“

“Quiet. Stay still,” Seungmin demanded in a soft voice, and Hyunjin complied without saying another word, quietly letting the former do what he wanted to do, standing still with arms falling on his sides.

Seungmin began to comb his fingers through Hyunjin’s messy hair, careful with his every touch. Realizing Seungmin was actually fixing his hair, Hyunjin flashed a toothy grin, totally melting into Seungmin’s gentle touch. Hyunjin opened his mouth to say something but Seungmin beat him to it.

“I could have used my wand, but this way is more romantic,” Seungmin casually said, solely focusing on the hair he was fixing.

Hyunjin’s grin stretched wider, eyes fixating the boy in front of him.

Satisfied with how Hyunjin’s hair looked, Seungmin pulled the hoodie back on, carefully placing over them so that he wouldn’t ruin the hair he just barely fixed. He lightly patted Hyunjin’s head, telling him he was done.

“It looks okay now?” Hyunjin asked, eyes not leaving Seungmin even for a moment.

Seungmin nodded and grinned brightly. “Better.” He tilted up his head and took a glance at the giant clock. It read: seven thirty five.

“We still have an hour before breakfast,” he expressed, casually slipping his hand into Hyunjin’s, causing the Gryffindor to flinch in surprise, staring wide eyed at their intertwining hands. Seungmin cackled watching how the tall boy was genuinely surprised with his sudden boldness. He smiled and began to walk, pulling Hyunjin along.

“What are we doing here?” Hyunjin asked as soon as he spotted the lake in front of them, not far from their current location.

Seungmin didn’t answer, he quietly led Hyunjin to a spot under a tree instead, hands still tightly clasping together, to Hyunjin’s please.

“We’re going to have breakfast here,” Seungmin finally revealed, smiling brightly. He pulled out his wand and said, “ _Accio_ cloth!”

A few seconds later, a huge dark green and silver checkered colored cloth flew over to them, and Seungmin quickly used his hand to catch it. He carefully laid it flat on the still-damp ground, seating himself comfortably after that. He patted a space next to him, asking Hyunjin to sit there, and he complied, sitting close that their knees brushed each other, and Seungmin didn’t seem to mind it at all. As soon as Hyunjin seated, the Slytherin conjured the food for their breakfast date, making Hyunjin gasped in awe and amazement.

There were plates of scrambled eggs, fried eggs, fried sausages, rolls, toast and jam, along with a cup of tea, and a glass of milk in front of them.

“Did you just conjure food out of thin air?” Hyunjin asked in daze, genuinely curious, mouth still fell open. Seungmin chuckled softly and shook his head, “No. Food can’t be conjured out of nothing. These are from the kitchen.”

Hyunjin nodded understandingly, as if he was learning something new today.

“But, we can conjure water or sauces out of thin air. Basically things that are not considered as good food. What sauces do you prefer?” Seungmin asked, seemingly excited to impress the Gryffindor.

“Uh, chili sauce?” Hyunjin sounded unsure, his eyebrows rose. Seungmin smiled confidently and waved his wand around, conjuring the chili sauce. A second later, the chili sauce poured from the wand tip into the fried sausages plate right before their eyes, making Hyunjin clap his hands in excitement, like a child. Realizing that he could give them away, Hyunjin became wary all of sudden, scanning the area in case there were other students around.

“Don’t worry. Nobody really comes here, especially at this hour. It’s still too early,” Seungmin assured, lips stretching into a reassuring smile. “Besides, it's the weekend. Most students would choose to sleep in for a bit.”

Hyunjin chuckled at how confident and right Seungmin sounded, nodding his head in agreement. “You sound like you come here often.”

“Yeah, you’re right. I always come here before breakfast every weekend.”

Hyunjin gaped, impressed. “Oh, wow.”

“Come on, let’s eat,” Seungmin said, holding out the scrambled eggs plate to Hyunjin, which the Gryffindor muttered soft thanks as gratitude.

“This feels like a date,” Hyunjin mindlessly pointed out, taking a bite of the scrambled eggs, and began to chew, tasting the simple dish.

“Oh, aren’t we on a date right now?” Seungmin blinked his eyes a few times, gazing at Hyunjin, keeping his expression neutral.

Hyunjin halted his action when he heard that, head slowly shifted toward Seungmin, and he gawked. “We are?”

Seungmin nodded and nonchalantly asked, “Are we?”

If Hyunjin was smiling, now, he was grinning in joy, brighter than the stars shined in the night sky. “We are.”

Seungmin learned that Hyunjin was an only child, and that he lived with Muggle parents despite being a halfblood, explaining that his wizard father had died when he was a baby. His mother remarried when he was ten years old. Hyunjin somehow felt glad that his mother decided to remarry, at least there would be someone who could take care of her while he was in Hogwarts.

Hyunjin learned that Seungmin had an older sister in Hogwarts, but she already graduated when they were in third year.

“She’s a Seeker. Just like you!” Seungmin excitedly revealed.

“Oh, really? What’s her name? Oh, wait. Let me guess. Is she a Slytherin too?” Hyunjin asked enthusiastically, completely eager to make a guess.

Seungmin nodded twice, excitedly anticipating Hyunjin’s answer.

“Um…,” Hyunjin tried his best to rack his brain to remember the list of the legendary seekers of Hogwarts he had learned previously. His eyes brightened when a name popped up, eyebrows rose in excitement.

“Kim Seunghye, isn’t she?”

“Bingo!” Seungmin snapped his fingers at the accurate answer, smiling proudly for his sister. Kim Seunghye, his only older sister, was pretty famous in Hogwarts for being a great Seeker of Slytherin, who had helped their house to win the Quidditch Cup for five years in row.

Hyunjin gasped dramatically, eyes grew wide, lips parted in pleasant surprise. “Oh God! I like her, very much. I have a crush on her since our first year. She’s probably motivated me to become a Seeker now.”

‘ _I have a crush on her_ ’ _have_ … _present tense_. “Oh,” Seungmin’s expression visibly dropped upon hearing that, pressing his lips into a firm line.

It didn’t take Hyunjin long to realize the choice of words he had uttered, noticing the complete change in Seungmin’s expression and mood, knowing well it came from his own mouth. Hyunjin silently cursed his mouth for the _no-filter_ option, feeling guilty about it. He reached for Seungmin’s hand. Seeing how the Slytherin didn’t pull his hand away, Hyunjin placed his own on it and brought to his lap, gently caressing his thumb in a circle on the back of Seungmin’s hand.

“Don’t be upset. I’m only a fan of your sister. You’re the only one that I really like,” Hyunjin confessed.

Seungmin softly gasped, flustered, completely not expecting Hyunjin’s confession to be _this_ soon.

_Bloody hell_ , he didn’t expect it at all. His cheeks flushed, slowly tinted with pink blush. His stomach began to twist in knots.

“You…can’t just do that,” he stuttered out, his breath slightly uneven.

Hyunjin flashed a fond smile, lightly squeezing the hand in his, “I can, and I’m going to do it again. Kim Seungmin, I like you.”

In all honesty, a blaring alarm just totally went off in Kim Seungmin’s brain, completely shutting down his overall functions, therefore a frozen Kim Seungmin was in action. He stayed still and silent, quietly digesting the newly found information in his brain. Not that he didn’t know already, but, hearing it from Hyunjin’s mouth and in his _attractive_ voice felt different –he definitely thought Hyunjin’s voice was attractive, and soothing, and comforting, alright till right there.

“Seungmin?” Hyunjin called in a soft voice, sounding a tad bit worried seeing how the Slytherin hadn’t moved an inch in a full minute, and that seemed to do the trick when Seungmin finally blinked and looked at Hyunjin in the eyes. “Yeah?”

“Did you hear what I just said?”

“Uh…oh, yes, of course,” Seungmin replied, along with a nervous laughter. “Just trying to wrap my head around…your confession.”

“Ah.” Hyunjin smiled warmly, rubbing the back of his neck. “You don’t have to answer me…yet. Take all the time you need.”

“Can I?” Seungmin hesitantly asked. He didn’t really know what he really felt about the Gryffindor, sure, Seungmin liked his company, the conversations they had, and the flirting Hyunjin had done, but that wasn’t enough for him to say back the words, ‘I like you’.

Hyunjin nodded, lips curling into a reassuring smile. “Sure, cupcake.”

“Gryffindor will be up against Hufflepuff next week,” Hyunjin was talking about the upcoming Quidditch game that was going to determine which house would win the Quidditch Cup. “Will you come and watch the game?”

Seungmin lazily shook his head. “I don’t have interest in Quidditch you see, so I’d rather stay in the library and study.”

A sulky pout formed on Hyunjin’s lips when he heard his reply. “Despite your sister being a Seeker?”

Seungmin frowned at the question thrown at him, slightly scrunching his nose, having arms crossed his chest. “What’s the relation of that? We’re siblings but we’re different.”

“Alright, sorry. Will you come and watch me play instead?” Hyunjin was practically begging, cutely –his hands holding onto Seungmin’s arms, shaking it lightly with slightly pouty lips. His eyes were glistening like the cat named in Puss in Boot in the Shrek movie. “Seungmin please. It’s the final game.”

Seungmin exhaled in defeat, seemingly losing to the Gryffindor’s plea, _cute plea_. “Alright. I’ll be there.”

Hyunjin clapped his hands happily, succeeding in persuading the Slytherin to come and see him play. “Promise me, you’ll be there,” he said, holding out his pinky finger to the boy.

Seungmin stared at the finger, utterly puzzled, “What’s this?”

“Muggle way to make a promise. It’s something like you can’t break your promise thing,” Hyunjin roughly explained.

Seungmin’s eyes brightened at the whole new information. He gazed at Hyunjin with curious eyes. “Is it like the unbreakable vow?”

It was Hyunjin’s turn to frown at the question, slightly tilting his head. “Enlighten me?”

“The unbreakable vow is a spell where a witch or wizard makes an oath to another. If the terms of the oath are broken, the person who breaks it will die,” Seungmin explained nonchalantly.

Hyunjin’s jaw fell open, eyes blinking in mild shock hearing the explanation. “Wow, this is new.”

“So, is it the same or similar?”

“W-what? Oh. No!” Hyunjin replied, panicking when he realized Seungmin might take the pinky finger promise in another way, “Well, in the past, the person that broke the pinky promise had to cut off their pinky finger, but not nowadays. It has become a more casual way of making a promise, which means nobody’s cutting anyone’s pinky finger anymore. It’s all about binding trust between two parties.”

Seungmin nodded understandingly, absorbing the information rather easily. “Sounds cute.”

“Is the unbreakable vow still relevant these days?” Hyunjin asked hesitantly, but he was curious about it.

“Yeah, it’s still relevant. I witnessed my uncle doing it once, but it’s really for a super important kind of stuff. You don’t just see wizards or witches do it on a daily basis. Like that.”

“Oh. I see.” Realizing they hadn’t made the pinky promise, Hyunjin held out his pinky finger again, “Come on, hold out your pinky finger like this,” he said and Seungmin complied, holding out his pinky finger like Hyunjin did.

“Then?” he shifted his attention from their fingers to Hyunjin, eyebrows rose.

“Promise,” Hyunjin hooked their pinky fingers together, lips stretching into a toothy grin as he brought their thumbs to touch each other, skin to skin, sealing their promise, “and stamp. You can’t break our promise now.”

“Have you made up with Yeji?” Hyunjin carefully asked while they were leisurely walking through the Wooden Bridge, hand in hand, leisurely swinging their hands to the back and forth, feeling content with the serene comfortable atmosphere between them.

Seungmin inhaled sharply and chewed his lower lip, hesitantly shaking his head, staring down at the ground as they walked, feeling a churn in his stomach. Looking at how Seungmin reacted, Hyunjin felt bad for asking all of sudden.

“She cares about you.”

“I know. That’s more the reason why I don’t have the courage to apologize.”

Hyunjin abruptly stopped their pace, and Seungmin followed suit, one step ahead of the Gryffindor. Hyunjin moved and stood in front of Seungmin, facing him, their hands were still firmly intertwined together. Seungmin had his eyes fixed at the ground, making no attempt to look up, and Hyunjin didn’t wish to make him to.

“Yeji will understand. She’s been your friend long enough to understand,” Hyunjin said in a soft voice.

Seungmin let out a shaky breath, his fingers curling into fist on his side.

“That’s the thing. We’ve been friends long enough, but I’ve never done something like this to her…blatantly ignoring her as if there’s something wrong with her, when in fact, there’s nothing wrong with her. It’s all just me…and my stupid brain.”

Without an ounce of hesitation, Hyunjin pulled Seungmin into his embrace, hugging him tight, delivering his warmth to the Slytherin, with a hand traveled to the back of the boy’s head, and the other rubbing his back gently, trying his best to calm him down.

Seungmin didn’t cry.

He felt empty, sad and tired with his own _damn_ emotions. His chest felt tight and heavy, filled with an indefinite amount of guiltiness.

Hesitating, he slowly loosened his tightly curled fingers and brought his hands around Hyunjin’s waist, loosely wrapping his arms around the tall boy.

“It’s not your fault. We’re all humans. Humans have emotions and you too. Humans make mistakes, so do you, but it doesn’t mean you can’t be forgiven.”

Hyunjin gently caressed Seungmin’s hair. “I know it’s hard, but you have to do it. Otherwise, your friendship will ruin. Trust me.”

Seungmin looked up and met Hyunjin’s eyes. His eyes were sad and sorrowful, despite his lips smiling.

“Did you drift apart with someone, Hyunjin?”

Hyunjin gave him a sad smile and nodded.

“Yeah. He’s a Muggle, but he was my best friend. I treasured him a lot. Well, back then. We would meet each other during summer break. Then, there was this one day he started ignoring me without any reason. I thought it was something I did wrong. I tried asking, but he never wanted to see me ever again. I guess, since then I just gave up and our friendship ended just like that.”

Hyunjin chuckled dryly. “That’s why you have to make up with Yeji. You don’t want to lose her forever, don’t you?

Seungmin breathed in and shook his head. “No. I’m sorry about your former best friend.”

Hyunjin flashed a smile, a lot brighter than earlier. “I’m over it. I still have my friends here, and now I have you too.”

Hearing that, Seungmin blushed furiously, averting Hyunjin’s soft gaze on him.

“Hyunjin!” somebody yelled from a distance, surprising the two.

Seungmin frantically pulled his hoodie up, covering his face and turned his head away from where the person was standing. He didn’t move an inch from Hyunjin’s embrace and the Gryffindor still had him in his arms.

Hyunjin turned his head to the owner of the voice, who was standing at the far end of the bridge. “Oh, hey Jisung,” he replied, clearly taken aback by Jisung’s sudden appearance.

“What are you doing here?” Jisung asked, taking a few steps closer towards them, his eyes glanced at the figure in front of Hyunjin, whom he suspected Hyunjin’s love interest seeing how they stood so close together and having in each other’s arms so _casually_ right before his eyes. He flashed a knowing smirk. “Who’s that?”

“Oh, just someone,” Hyunjin answered, short.

It was clear to Jisung that Hyunjin didn’t want to disclose the person’s identity to him. “You woke up early though.”

“Yeah, for fresh air. Aren’t you going to Great Hall?”

“Oh, yeah. I’m going now. Just passing by. See you later.” Jisung waved a hand and turned on his heel, leisurely making his way to the Great Hall.

“What’s up with Jisung? He gave me chill.” Seungmin shuddered, rubbing the back of his neck. The hairs on the back of his neck rose hearing Jisung’s tone.

Hyunjin shrugged his shoulders and shook his head, not knowing what was going on with his friend. “No idea. He’s been acting strange these days.”

“Alright, I’m going first.” Seungmin took a deep breath and leaned forward, quickly placing a soft kiss on Hyunjin’s cheek and leaned back to see a comically wide eyed Hyunjin. He giggled sheepishly. 

“See you around, muffin.”

With that Seungmin left. If he hung around a bit longer, he could see Hyunjin’s cheeks dusted with pink blush.

Seungmin met with Felix while he was on his way to the Great Hall, brightly greeting the blond boy who was walking leisurely to the same destination. He picked up the pace to match with the Hufflepuff and walked beside him.

“Where are you from though?” Felix asked, casually leaning over and sniffed Seungmin’s clothes. “You smell like some sort of soil.”

Seungmin snorted watching Felix’s behavior. “The lake.”

“Oh? Were you with H? The one who gave you cakes and chocolates?” Felix excitedly teased, smiling knowingly and nudged Seungmin’s shoulder. He playfully wiggled his eyebrows after that.

Warmth crawled up his neck and spread into Seungmin’s cheeks. “You could say that.”

Felix grinned brightly, leaning forward. He whispered, “How far are you two?”

“Stop it, Felix,” Seungmin mumbled frantically, pushing his friend away playfully, causing the blond boy to burst into a soft giggle. “We just met. We’re only on the second date.”

“Oooh, progress,” Felix cooed, and continued to giggle like a kid. “Ah, I’m curious about this person. Will you let me know?”

“Someday.”

Felix let out a dramatic sigh, shaking his head, and probably counting in his head. “That sounds long enough.”

Seungmin laughed and nudged him teasingly after that. “Now, tell me about the dark aura but good looking sixth year crush of yours. Have you made any progress?”


	5. Quidditch Final

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy birthday Hyunjin! <3

It was a little bit past midnight when Seungmin and his partner, Lia, finished patrolling their assigned area which was the dungeons and the ground floor, making their way to their dormitory as soon as they covered the whole area. When they passed through the main door and stepped inside the Slytherin common room, Seungmin noticed their common room was still lit up, catching a familiar figure sitting near the fireplace on their own. He figured who it was though he only saw them from the back.

_Hwang Yeji_ –the girl he had been effectively avoiding without failure since the past weeks, and still was.

It wasn’t that he didn’t consider the little advice given by Hyunjin, he had been considering it every day in fact, and seriously, but the courage just wasn’t there. He had tried to build the courage, planning words he was going to say, but it was all vain because he couldn’t face Yeji. 

_It was_ _hard_. 

Seungmin found it hard to even face Yeji. He felt shame, and guilty. 

Seungmin wanted to head straight for his room, but then there was Lia, standing in front of the doorway with a stern expression, deliberately blocking his way with her arms crossed over her chest. He momentarily forgot that Lia was Yeji’s roommate, and also her best friend.

Lia gestured him to the common room, and firmly told him, “She’s waiting for you, idiot. Please go and settle your problem. It’s been weeks. How long more do you want to ignore her? She’s hurt too, you know.”

Seungmin’s shoulders slumped upon hearing the last sentence, swallowing the lump formed in his throat. 

_Lia was right._

Yeji was hurt too. 

Seungmin didn’t think of that. Not even the slightest. He had been selfish about his own feelings that he forgot he was hurting Yeji too. He felt bad, sure, he felt extremely guilty for ignoring her, sure, but he hadn’t thought about Yeji’s feelings regarding the stupid note. 

He was too busy thinking about his feelings that the thought hadn’t once crossed his mind.

He felt _terrible_.

Sighing in defeat, Seungmin turned on his heel and walked toward the couch near the fireplace, where Yeji was sitting. Feeling anxious and nervous, he hesitantly plopped himself on the couch in front of the Slytherin girl, who was facing the fireplace, his eyes automatically staring down at the floor and his fingers began to fiddle the hem of his robe. 

Seungmin took a deep breath and breathed out heavily. 

“Yeji, I’m sorry,” he began, his voice broke, his throat felt dry. “I’m at fault for ignoring you. I shouldn’t have done that to you. It’s not even your fault. You don’t deserve it at all. It’s all me. It’s my entire fault. I was dealing with something and I took it out on you. It’s unfair for you. I’m sorry.”

His eyes stung, swelling with warm tears threatening to fall. Seungmin shakily bit his lower lip, holding himself from bursting into ugly sob. His fingers of both hands clutched tight to the fabric of his robes, nails digging his thighs. His body jerked when a pair of hands gently placed on his shoulders, blurry eyes catching the glimpse of a shadow in front of him getting down on their knees. Hesitating, Seungmin finally lifted his head, his bloodshot eyes met with the face of the person he was trying to apologize for. 

Yeji gazed softly at him for a moment before her lips stretched into a sincere smile, eyes brimming with tears. Upon seeing the smiling Yeji, Seungmin's tears fell, and did not care if he seemed really weak right now. Yeji pulled Seungmin into her warm embrace, patting his back softly and gently. 

"I forgive you, Seungmin. You're a human too, who has heart and feelings. I knew you were affected by those Gryffindor clowns and their harsh words. I was just waiting for you to come to me, and you finally did. Thank you for coming to me, Seungmin."

Seungmin could only cry harder.

“I’m dumb, ain’t I?” Seungmin asked, sniffling, once both of them had settled down their crying mess. It took them at least half an hour. 

Eyes were swollen. Eyelashes were damp. Noses were red. Cheeks were full of half-dried tears streaks.

Both Seungmin and Yeji ultimately burst into messy laughter after looking at each other’s miserable face. It was such a _hilarious_ sight, they deduced. They were now sitting on one couch, next to each other, their shoulders brushed each other.

“I don’t want to lose you just because I’m dumb,” Seungmin added, flashing a quick smile.

A chuckle escaped Yeji’s lips, finding it funny. “For someone smart like you, you sure are a little bit of an idiot.”

An embarrassed grin crept on Seungmin’s face, scratching his head awkwardly.

“Oh.” Yeji clapped and clasped her hands all of sudden, as if she was reminded of something, startling the boy next to her. She swiftly turned her body to face Seungmin, lips creeping into a cheeky smirk.

“Tell me about you and Hyunjin.”

~***~

“That’s all for today. Class dismissed,” Professor Babbling announced loud and clear before picking up her books and quickly exiting the classroom. Seungmin’s eyes quietly followed the step of their professor until she disappeared through the door.

“I’ve always wondered why she’s so quick to leave every single time,” a deep voice from his right side spoke, startling Seungmin from his train of thoughts.

Seungmin shrugged his shoulders and began to toss his books into his bag. “She’s probably hungry, or something. Her class is always scheduled before lunch time.”

“Oh, that makes sense.” Felix nodded understandingly, slinging his bag on his shoulder. “I’m going first. See you around. Bye, Seungmin.”

“Bye,” the Slytherin replied, quickly waving off a hand with a smile on his face and watching the Hufflepuff dissolved into the sea of people in the corridor.

Seungmin waited for another five minutes before he decided to leave. He rose from the chair and turned toward the door, finding a prince charming standing by the door, shining so brightly, thanks to the sunlight.

“Hi, cupcake,” Hyunjin greeted, waving his hand in a small but quick wave with a cheeky grin on his face.

Seungmin’s lips curled into a bright sheepish smile at the pet name. 

He liked it. 

“Hey, muffin,” he replied casually, successfully making Hyunjin’s stretching grin even wider. Seungmin seated himself on the chair again, scooting away to make space for Hyunjin. He gestured to the Gryffindor to take a seat next to him to which Hyunjin complied, putting his elbow on the table and leaned against it, facing the boy.

“You’re always the last one to leave. I wonder why?” Hyunjin stared at him in curiosity, raising his eyebrows.

Seungmin took a deep breath and slowly breathed out. “I don’t like crowds,” he truthfully answered, mindlessly drawing a pattern on the table with a finger. “Crowds make me anxious.”

Hyunjin’s expression changed, seemingly concerned. “Is that why you don’t really go to watch Quidditch games? Since there will be a lot of people around?”

“Partially? But really, I don’t have that much interest in Quidditch.”

Hyunjin looked at him in the eyes worriedly. “Seungmin, you don’t have to come to the upcoming game if you’re uncomfortable,” Hyunjin said softly with a hint of concern in his voice, “I don’t want you to feel anxious just because I asked you to watch me play.”

Seungmin smiled softly, his heart feeling warm and all tingling seeing how concerned Hyunjin was with his well being. He reached for Hyunjin’s palm and intertwined their fingers, fitting perfectly like they were made for each other, and Seungmin liked the feeling of it.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be going with Minho so he’ll be there all the time, so you don’t have to worry. I’m going to watch you play no matter what.”

Hyunjin was still looking at him with a concerned gaze. “Are you sure?”

Seungmin nodded and flashed a reassuring smile. “Hundred percent sure.”

The Gryffindor let out a relief sigh, body visibly relaxed. “Thank you,” he said, lifting their intertwined hands and placing a kiss on the back of Seungmin’s hand.

Before Seungmin knew it, the simple act of affection had caused him to blush furiously, and it didn’t go unnoticed by Hyunjin.

“Where were you from by the way?” Seungmin asked, diverting the attention from his reddening cheeks.

“Potions. My favorite class,” Hyunjin replied with a proud smile.

“Oh really? I don’t really fancy Potions. Half of the time I don’t even know what I was doing in that class.” 

Seungmin shuddered when he was reminded of the tiny accident he had previously during Potions class. 

It was _truly_ a nightmare.

Hyunjin burst into a high-pitched laughter. “I still remember the commotion you caused during our third year. Which potion was it?” He closed his eyes, racking his brain to remember. He snapped his fingers when he finally remembered. “It was Wideye Potion, isn’t it?”

Seungmin stared at him in amusement, lips parted. “Yeah, you’re right. It was Wideye Potion. I almost set my cauldron on fire. That happened like two years ago. I’m surprised you still remember.”

Hyunjin grinned, eyes turning into crescents. “Of course! Who doesn’t? It was nearly impossible to set that potion on fire but you did it. Left quite an impression right there.” He cackled teasingly.

Seungmin’s lips instantly jutted out into a sulky pout. That was an embarrassing thing to be remembered.

Hyunjin smiled watching the pouty lips boy, holding himself from squishing the latter because he looked _so freaking_ cute.

“It’s okay. Not everyone has talent for Potions. You like Charms, don’t you?” he asked, attempting to change the topic before Seungmin got even more gloomy, and he didn’t want that.

Seungmin’s eyes widened in surprise, delighted. “Oh? How do you know?”

“I noticed your eyes lit up all bright and sparkling whenever you talked about spells and incantations. Besides, you’re good at it too. So, I figured you like Charms.”

“Oh, good observation.” Seungmin was absolutely impressed. No less. 

Hyunjin shrugged his shoulders proudly with a smug grin gracing his face.

"You’re right. I really fancy Charms. It’s always interesting to learn new spells and incantations. And also, I want to be a Charms Master. That's my dream."

“Oh wow. A very cool dream.” Hyunjin nodded, impressed. “I believe you’ll be a great Charms Master.”

He cast a sideways glance and flashed Seungmin a cheeky grin before he muttered, “As for me, it’s always interesting to learn about you.”

Let’s just say, Hyunjin received quite a beating for that flirty remark.

As much as Seungmin did not mind Hyunjin’s flirting, it wasn’t really good for his weak heart. Because every time Hyunjin flirted with him, he felt like his heart was going to explode right there at that moment.

“You’re late,” Yeji muttered with her full mouth when Seungmin seated himself in front of the Slytherin girl for lunch, “Where have you been?”

Seungmin scrunched his face in disgust watching the girl talk while having food in her mouth. “I had stuff to settle,” he replied, short. He picked up his utensils and began eating.

Yeji narrowed her eyes and scoffed, gulping down the food in her mouth. “Lies. I know you were with the lover boy.” 

She smirked devilishly, taking another bite of her fried sausage.

Seungmin rolled his eyes, not amused, leisurely devouring his meals. “Why bother asking if you already know the answer?” 

“Not amused anymore, I see.” Yeji carefully munched, giving him a knowing look before she eagerly asked, “Which stage are you at? Have you guys kissed?”

Seungmin halted his munching in instant, cheeks cutely protruding thanks to the food inside his mouth, and gave her a sharp glare. He munched quickly and swallowed, pursing his lips after that. “Merlin’s Beard, not you too. Why are you so interested whether we already kissed or not?” he hissed, “For the record, I’m not annoyed. Just to quench my dying curiosity.”

Yeji shrugged, feigning ignorance, casually back to eating her food. “Because that’s the most interesting and best part.”

Seungmin almost rolled his eyes for the second time of the day when he caught someone he knew was staring at him intensely from afar, particularly from Gryffindor table. The stare sent shivers to the core of his spine and Seungmin visibly shuddered.

The person was staring at him for a full minute as if he wanted to murder him right at that moment.

And, it was Jisung, Hyunjin’s best friend.

~***~

“Can you grant me a wish if my house wins the Quidditch Cup?”

“Enlighten me, why should I?”

It was the night before the Quidditch game, and Hyunjin had _cutely_ asked Seungmin to meet him at the Astronomy Tower, and the Slytherin agreed with a condition it was only for an hour. No more. He didn’t want Hyunjin to tire himself out before the big game the next day. Hyunjin protested at first saying an hour wasn’t enough but Seungmin shut him up when he threatened the Gryffindor not to meet at all. 

Besides, Seungmin was weak for cute Hyunjin. He would find himself melting into puddles, like cotton candy whenever Hyunjin acted cute, or simply doing cute stuff.

He had deduced, cute Hyunjin was _far_ more dangerous than flirty Hyunjin.

“Huh?” Seungmin was waiting for the Gryffindor to answer his question, staring at him with a raised eyebrow in anticipation.

“Um, you know,” Hyunjin said, drawing a circle on his knee in a slightly awkward manner. It was as if he was a tiny wee bit shy about asking it. “It’ll be like some kind of booster for me to catch the Golden Snitch faster.”

Hyunjin flashed an almost shy smile.

Seungmin narrowed his eyes at Hyunjin suspiciously before considering the tall boy’s request. He rolled his eyes and let out a defeated sigh.

“Alright, only one and no weird wish,” he seriously warned, pointing a finger to the Gryffindor, “Otherwise, I’ll stun you with Stupefy spell. Got it?”

Hyunjin grinned in triumph, eyes crinkling into pretty moon shapes, and then nodded his head rapidly, easily agreeing to Seungmin’s simple yet threatening condition.

When Seungmin returned to his room, he found his roommate, Eunsung, was still awake, startling him when the boy suddenly sat up in his bed.

“Oh, why aren’t you sleeping yet?” Seungmin asked, preparing his bed to sleep.

Eunsung let out a tired sigh. “Can’t sleep. I have too much thinking in my head, I guess.”

“Reading books helps,” Seungmin suggested, sitting at the edge of his bed, “I can lend you my book if you want.”

“Oh, you aren’t reading it tonight?” Eunsung tilted his head, as if remembering something. “Now that I think, it’s been a while since I saw you read a book. I guess things are doing fine with you.”

It was a known fact to his roommates that Seungmin couldn’t sleep without organizing his thoughts by reading books.

Seungmin halted his movement and became silent for a moment, shifting his attention from his roommate to the book on the nightstand and only then he realized that the half-read book remained untouched since the day he met Hyunjin.

“Seungmin?” Eunsung called, snapping him up from his reverie.

“Oh. I have another book I brought with me. Do you want to read it?”

Eunsung smiled gratefully. “Sure, thanks.”

~***~

“Minho,” Seungmin called, popping his head inside the room occupied by the older boy, eyes darting around to find the former. He finally spotted the boy standing in front of a long mirror, his fingers running through his jet black hair, styling it for a bit.

“Whipped much?” Seungmin asked when his eyes caught the sight of the yellow and black stripe scarf wrapped around his neck, displaying an amused smile on his face. He also didn’t miss the glossy lips of the older boy. He leaned against the door, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Are you talking about yourself?” Minho’s mouth quirked upward on a side in the mirror, wiggling his eyebrows teasingly. “You’ve never gone to watch the Quidditch game anymore after your sister graduated, and now you’re only going because Hyunjin asked you to. Isn’t that whipped culture too?”

Seungmin rolled his eyes. He knew Minho would bring this up. “Shut up. I made a pinky promise with him, so I really shouldn’t break it. It’s not polite.”

“ _Not polite_ . Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Minho nodded his head mockingly. “Wherever did you learn this _whipped_ word anyway?”

Seungmin shrugged his shoulders. “Yeji taught me. Then, there’s also a Hufflepuff friend of mine.”

“Oh.” Minho swiftly whipped his head and gaped in mild surprise, lifting his eyebrows. “Yeji and you are good now?”

“Yeah, we made up.”

Minho heaved a sigh of relief, back to fixing his hair. “Finally. It’s tiring me watching you two not talking to each other.”

“Alright, end of discussion,” Seungmin said and clapped his hand once, “Are you done? Let’s get going or there’ll be no good seats for us,” he urged impatiently, and then stormed off of the room.

“Yeah yeah coming!” Minho yelled out. With one last glance in the mirror, he made his way out of the room and off they went to the Quidditch pitch.

Seungmin stood there by himself at one side, still, waving his hand in tiny wave while watching Minho jog off to the place where Hufflepuff players were currently gathering before the game, to meet up with Chan, the captain as well as the Keeper of Hufflepuff Quidditch team. 

His only purpose going there was to give Chan a pep talk, the sort of thing he had always done whenever the Hufflepuff was having a game. 

Minho had asked whether Seungmin wanted to follow him before they went up to their seats, but the younger refused the offer, saying he would go and find the seats by himself. 

Despite not really attending the Quidditch game, Seungmin was well aware what kind of pep talk Minho planned and he’d rather not taint his pure eyes and innocent mind, and witness their pep talk.

“You sure you’ll be fine?” Minho asked in a concerned tone before storming off, knowing well the younger had issues being in the crowds. “I can send you first and come back later.”

Seungmin was silent for a moment, eyes darting around the area. He didn’t want to burden the older boy by letting him go back and forth. He flashed a small reassuring smile.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be fine. If you send me first, then you won’t be able to meet Chan. Just go.”

Minho had nodded his head understandingly and left him by himself.

In all honesty, Seungmin wasn’t really that fine. His hands were clammy due to the rising anxiety, but he thought he would manage seeing how there weren’t that many people on the ground anymore. Most of them were already seated and ready to watch the game.

Seungmin was in the midst of climbing the flight of stairs when he met a certain Gryffindor who was walking down the stairs. Both of them halted their pace almost immediately after making eye contact. He began to feel the hairs of his nape bristled because Jisung was staring at him with the same exact glare the Gryffindor gave him a few days ago in the Great Hall. 

Seungmin swallowed, feeling mixed with nervousness and anxiety all of sudden. Somehow he wished Minho was with him right at the moment.

Not wanting to worsen the situation, he flicked away his gaze and continued to climb up the stairs. Before he knew it, Seungmin felt his right shoulder was shoved roughly and a loud thud was heard.

He winced, feeling the pain all over his body, especially his neck.

From the corner of his eyes, he saw Jisung escaping and his ears heard a devilish laugh coming from the boy.

“Oh gosh, you okay?!” Seungmin heard an oddly familiar deep voice asked in concern. Holding to his aching neck with one hand, he used the other hand to stand up with the help of the owner of the voice.

“Oh, Seungmin!”

Upon his name being called, Seungmin slowly turned his head to the person, mildly surprised when he finally saw their face.

“Oh, Felix! Yeah, I’m alright. Just my neck hurts a little.”

“Are you sure? Do you need to go to the hospital?” Felix asked, furrowing his eyebrows, worry was written all over his face. 

“I think I’ll be fine in a few minutes,” Seungmin assured. “Thank you for asking.”

“What happened? How did you fall off the stairs?”

“I missed the step, I guess,” Seungmin lied, giving his friend a little smile.

“Oh no. Be careful. Do you want to sit with me perhaps?” Felix offered, lips curling into a relief grin.

“I was supposed to sit with my friend, Minho. He said his friend already reserved seats for us. His friend’s name is Changbin if I’m not mistaken. He’s a Hufflepuff. Do you know him?”

“Oh!” Felix gasped, eyes widened in complete surprise. “That’s my boyfriend! Seo Changbin, right?”

“Oh yeah, that’s right! Wow, what a coincidence.” Seungmin laughed and shook his head in amusement. Realization hit him after a while. He narrowed his eyes at the Hufflepuff. “Wait, why I didn’t know about this boyfriend of yours?”

Felix flashed a sheepish smile, the tip of his ears reddening. “He just confessed to me last week, so we just got together.”

“Is he the same guy you’ve been telling me about? The dark aura but good looking sixth year?”

Felix nodded, cheeks dusted with pink blush. His bright shy smile never left his face.

Seungmin nudged his elbow, smiling cheekily. “Congratulations.”

The moment they reached their seats, Seungmin was introduced to Changbin, a dirty blond haired boy with a well-built body. He admitted to seeing Changbin with Minho several times. Changbin really seemed what Felix had described; the older seemingly exuded a certain dark aura, and even Seungmin was kind of intimidated by his presence.

But, his strong impression broke the moment Seungmin witnessed the way Changbin acted around Felix. It was exactly like how Hyunjin acted sometimes. If both of them were to be friends, Seungmin was sure he could warm up to Changbin sooner than he expected.

Loud enthusiastic cheers from the audiences were heard the moment the Quidditch players from both houses finally emerged and flew out scattering around the field. It was only after a full minute of searching Seungmin managed to spot Hyunjin in golden and scarlet Quidditch robes on his Firebolt. His location wasn’t that far from where he was sitting.

Hyunjin was seen scanning around, as if he was trying to find someone in the hundreds of audience. A grin graced upon Seungmin’s face, knowing the tall boy was searching for him. He had informed Hyunjin that he would be sitting with Hufflepuff but he doubted the Gryffindor could actually find him among the sea of students. It was like finding a needle in a haystack, except anything was possible.

From afar, Seungmin noticed Hyunjin seeming to be disappointed when he couldn’t find what he was looking for.

A chuckle escaped Seungmin’s lips, amused.

“I thought you said you aren’t interested in Quidditch games?” Felix interrupted his little entertainment, eyes were everywhere but the Slytherin.

“I’m not. Someone made me,” Seungmin admitted casually, utterly having his utmost concentration at the Seeker of the Gryffindor, whose eyes were still darting around to find him.

Felix’s lips parted, eyes went wide in surprise. He whipped his head toward Seungmin in a speed of lightning. “No way. H??”

Not turning to Felix’s direction, Seungmin displayed a shy toothy grin, totally not aware of the incoming danger. “Yeah.”

“Oh gosh. So, H is one of these Quidditch players? Shut up, but which one?” Felix asked excitedly, clasping his hands together and turned to the front. “Let’s see.”

Seungmin gasped when it dawned on him what he just told him. He panicked momentarily. “W-wait–“ he attempted to stop Felix, but the blond boy was already scanning the players around.

“Could it be Hani? Or Howon? Hyeri? Hyuk?” Felix was starting to get confused at this point, trying to find out players with H initial. He made more random guesses. “Could it be Hyunjin?”

Seungmin’s heart skipped a beat at the mention of Hyunjin’s name, biting his lower lip nervously. He silently prayed that Felix couldn’t catch it that easily. The boy could be oblivious sometimes, but he was smart.

“Or Hyomin? Haechan? What the hell?! Why are there so many of them having H as initial??” Felix’s eyebrows furrowed together, getting even more confused. He groaned in irritation before he leaned back, shoulders slumped. “I give up. For now.”

Seungmin burst into a loud giggle watching the boy getting all confused and giving up so immediately. A part of him felt bad for not telling Felix about Hyunjin just yet but a part of him felt relieved that Felix couldn’t actually figure out his H.

_His H._

_His Hyunjin._

The two words had a nice ring to it, and it made Seungmin smile like an idiot.

Hyunjin managed to spot Seungmin after a while. From his spot, Hyunjin flashed a sweet smile, briefly waving his hand toward Seungmin’s direction, promptly sending an alarm to Seungmin’s brain, fearing their little secret being exposed. 

Seungmin knew he was saved when a group of girls sitting behind them started screaming loudly, claiming that Hyunjin had waved at them. He had to bite back an amused smile hearing the girls gushing over the captain of the Gryffindor team.

Hyunjin could choose anyone but yet he chose Seungmin, and he was grateful for that.

Seungmin was dying to wave a hand back but it was too risky with many people around him. He was sure Hyunjin would understand. 

Except Hyunjin did not.

When they met later that night, after the game, after Seungmin’s daily patrol, Hyunjin was sulky and refused to talk to him the moment they met. Seungmin had called him a big baby out of endearment with the way the Gryffindor acted, but that made him sulk even more. 

However Seungmin always knew how to get him to talk. “If you continue to sulk like that, I won’t grant your wish.”

He didn’t really mean it but he had to do something.

Earlier that day, Hyunjin managed to catch the Golden Snitch within two hours and half, thus winning the Quidditch Cup for their house. It was a close battle as the seekers from both houses almost stumbled into the ground while trying to catch the small flying wing ball.

It took Hyunjin a while to stop sulking and finally shifted his attention to Seungmin. He had a cheeky smile on his face, as if he wasn’t sulking a few seconds before.

“I’d like a kiss for my wish.”

Seungmin wasn’t surprised by Hyunjin’s wish, and in fact he knew the Gryffindor would somehow ask for it. It was just something about Hyunjin he could easily read.

"Sure," Seungmin replied calmly. 

Hyunjin's eyes brightened in disbelief, lips parted. He asked again for confirmation seeing how easily the Slytherin agreed. "Really?" 

"Yeah, I don't see why not?" The Slytherin's lips quirked upward. "Close your eyes." 

And Hyunjin did it without hesitation, biting back a grin forming on his face in excitement. Seungmin chuckled as he drew himself closer to the tall boy, leaning in. He smiled and placed a peck on Hyunjin’s cheek, letting it linger for a few seconds before leaning back.

Seungmin grinned teasingly when Hyunjin opened his eyes, lips quirked downward, seemingly disappointed. His shoulders slumped.

Seungmin giggled softly. “Why? You don’t like it?”

Hyunjin’s lips naturally turned into a sulky pout, finger poking on his knee mindlessly, and eyes glued to the floor. “That’s not what I had in mind.”

Seungmin watched the boy in amusement, a toothy grin still on his mouth. He shrugged his shoulders, further teasing Hyunjin. “Well, you didn’t specify.”

"Can't I get one more kiss?" Hyunjin blinked a few times pleadingly, showing his index finger and had his lips puckered, asking for a kiss right there. 

"No. You asked for one wish, so one wish it is," Seungmin continued to tease him.

Hyunjin's lips were still pouting. "So, no?" 

Seungmin flashed a soft smile and firmly shook his head. "No." 

"Alright." Hyunjin heaved a defeated sigh, eventually giving up any new attempt. He leaned over and placed his head on Seungmin’s shoulder, feeling really tired from the Quidditch game to their celebrations. The Gryffindors had held some sort of mini party so it really drained his energy for the day.

"Let's get going. You’re obviously really tired and in need of sleep. I have to study tomorrow, and so do you." 

“Don’t want to leave,” Hyunjin whined tiredly, hugging tight Seungmin’s arm with his strong hands. “Let me just lay my head for a bit, please?”

Seungmin smiled, hand reaching for Hyunjin’s hair and caressed it softly, attempting to comfort the tall boy. "Is fifteen minutes enough?"

“Twenty minutes?” Hyunjin tried to bargain. He had nothing to lose anyway.

“Alright, muffin. Twenty minutes it is.”

Hyunjin grinned happily, satisfied.

“Hyunjin. Why do you like me?” Seungmin asked after a few minutes of comfortable silence.

Hyunjin was silent for a moment before he answered, “Because it’s you. Just you. That’s the only reason.”

Hyunjin wasn’t satisfied. 

He was satisfied earlier, but not at the moment, because he was a fickle human being so he felt dissatisfied, now. In all honesty, Seungmin thought Hyunjin was just exhausted, thus the clingy behaviour. The tall boy definitely needed a good night sleep, but here they were, trying to quietly and secretly sneak back into their dormitories. 

On the way returning to their respective dormitories, a few more blocks before they parted ways, Hyunjin kept complaining (jokingly) as quietly as possible about how Seungmin was mean and heartless for not giving him a kiss on the lips, letting those words out without filtering them like a drunk person.

Seungmin only rolled his eyes in amusement watching the Gryffindor’s behaviour. He knew Hyunjin didn’t mean any of the words, and the boy was just dead tired.

A moment after that, he heard footsteps coming toward them.

Seungmin quickly hissed at Hyunjin to shut up, which the latter gasped softly in shock, automatically covering his mouth with his hand. They moved and stayed close to the wall. Seungmin nervously swallowed and peeked over, attempting to see who it was, until he heard the familiar _meow_.

“Mr Filch and Mrs Norris!”

Without sparing any more seconds, Seungmin frantically swirled, grabbed Hyunjin’s hand and sprinted out of there, trying to look for any place they could hide from the caretaker of Hogwarts. They finally found a space between two walls, enough for two people to fit in.

Not thinking any further as the footsteps were getting closer, Seungmin pulled Hyunjin and shoved him into the tiny space, and he followed suit, squeezing himself into it. He immediately took out his wand and cast Disillusionment Charm upon themselves in order to make them appear as one with the walls.

They stayed in eerie silence for the next few minutes, until Mr Filch and his cat, Mrs Norris passed by.

Seungmin was glad that he remembered to cast the charm because Mr Filch did peek over and check the space they were in. Once Mr Filch was gone along with his cat, both Seungmin and Hyunjin heaved out a sigh of relief on escaping from getting caught, bursting into soft quiet laughter at their ridiculous situation. 

“ _Finite_ ,” Seungmin charmed under his breath, stopping the Disillusionment Charm at once.

It was then, they realized their vague positions.

Their bodies were closely pressed against each other, arms falling on their side. There wasn’t even an inch of space between them. They were never this close. Seungmin could literally feel the warmth radiating from Hyunjin’s body.

When Hyunjin unintentionally made a slight move, Seungmin flinched, feeling electrified and burned at the slight touch, making his heart rate pick up.

None of them made the attempt to move anymore after realizing the consequences.

Their eyes locked, staring at each other intensely.

Hyunjin licked his lips nervously and visibly swallowed, eyes flickered to Seungmin’s pink lips. Seungmin’s heart was ramming loudly in his ribcage, his stomach twisted in knots. His eyes travelled down to Hyunjin’s inviting lips, eyes were half-lidded, and their breaths became heavier as the seconds ticked by.

They both knew what they desired for.

“Do you want it as much as I do?” Hyunjin asked, half whispering, his warm breath tickled against Seungmin’s skin, sending shivers to his spine.

Getting an affirmative nod from Seungmin, Hyunjin slowly leaned in and closed the gap between them, pressing his warm lips against Seungmin’s soft one, sliding his hands to the boy’s neck and hair and pulling him closer. 

Hyunjin’s touch to his skin was burning.

Seungmin closed his eyes and eagerly kissed the tall boy back, tugging his hands on his waist.

The kiss was soft and sweet, but needy.

He liked it. It felt right. _He_ felt right. Kissing Hyunjin in the darkness, between the walls, under the full moon, felt right.

They pulled away after feeling like eternity, desperately gasping for air and pressing their foreheads together, arms tangled around each other. Seungmin grinned, showing his white set of teeth, and so did Hyunjin. They were in pure bliss.

“I like you, Hwang Hyunjin,” he confessed, half whispering, “very much. More than I’ve ever imagined. More than I ever would. More than I think I like you.”

His lips still felt burnt, a _good_ kind of burn. The taste of Hyunjin’s lips still lingered in his mouth.

Seungmin wanted more.

Kissing Hyunjin once made him desire more, so Seungmin tugged on Hyunjin’s collar, pulled him down and kissed him more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And they finally kissed! Final chapter will be updated later before Hyunjin's birthday ends~


	6. Accio Firebolt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The final chapter is finally up! This fic started with my birthday so I'm ending it with Hyunjin's birthday. I hope after reading this final chapter, you guys can leave me some feedback about how you feel reading throughout this fic and I'd really appreciate it! Enjoy!

“Will you do the honour and be mine?"

It was unclear who uttered the first word, because both Seungmin and Hyunjin asked the question at the same time. They let out soft giggles upon throwing the question, and Seungmin heard Hyunjin say something like _soulmate thing_.

“Yes,” they answered at the same time, and then burst into another fit of laughter.

_Soulmate thing._

It wasn’t Seungmin’s plan, _obviously_ , but they began to meet each other every night since then, right after the Slytherin’s daily patrol or whenever every prefect was done with their duties at midnight. Their choice of places somehow became various now that they decided to meet every single night, as they weren’t the only couple that hung out at the Astronomy Tower.

Astronomy Tower still remained as their spot on Friday night, though.

The Room of Requirement had become a place for them to cuddle and just talk for a couple of hours. Hyunjin found the room by chance when he was thinking of the way to just chill and cuddle with Seungmin.

“Seungmin.”

It was one of the days Seungmin and Lia were returning to their dormitory after finishing their duties, walking side by side. They were not far from their dormitory when Lia called his name.

Yawning tiredly, Seungmin nonchalantly replied, “What?”

Lia pursed her lips together, hesitation was clearly visible on her face, silently contemplating whether she should say it or not. “Every day at midnight, you sneak out, right? After the second patrol.”

Seungmin stopped his track, startled by the question thrown by Lia, catching him off guard. He should have expected his partner would notice at some point –he had been really careful about sneaking out– yet he was still alarmed by it. Lia followed suit, standing right beside Seungmin, expecting his answer.

Seungmin quickly racked his brain, trying to come up with plausible excuses while his facial expression remained neutral and composed. He was about to reply when Lia immediately cut him off, “Don’t try to lie. I saw you going out three nights in a row,” she warned, pressing her lips together.

Seungmin shut his mouth as it seemed like there was no use in lying. He exhaled and admitted defeat, “Yeah. That’s right.”

“Why?” she asked, asking for explanation

“These days have been super stressful for me so I went out to get fresh air. You’re well aware I couldn’t sleep without organizing my thoughts, right?” Seungmin reasoned, hoping for Lia to buy his excuses.

It was quite lame, but it was worth a try.

Lia scoffed, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms over her chest. “You think I don’t know you organized your thoughts by reading books? Yeji told me that.”

“Ah.” Seungmin’s lips parted, not surprised. “She did?”

Lia nodded firmly. “Seungmin, tell me. Are you cheating on her?”

Seungmin’s mind went blank upon hearing the question, processing it in his brain. His eyebrows furrowed together in confusion.

“Wait, what? Who cheated who?”

“You–” Lia pointed her index finger to Seungmin, unblinking– “cheated on Yeji.”

“I know you sneak out to see someone else!” she hissed in irritation.

There was a moment of silence before Seungmin finally came to realization, bursting into a fit of soft laughter. Lia was utterly confused by the boy’s action.

“What’s so funny?”

Seungmin took a while to calm himself, wiping the little tears forming at the corner of his eyes. “Merlin’s Beard, I’m not dating Yeji, Lia. She’s my best friend.”

It was Lia’s turn to be all confused, frowning all over. “Then, all the moments you two had?”

Seungmin chuckled softly. “We’re good friends.”

When Lia finally got it, she nodded understandingly. She sighed, her facial expression changed stern in a flash. “But that still doesn’t excuse you from sneaking out. We’re prefects, Seungmin. We’re supposed to be a good example for everyone, not the other way round. Please stop sneaking out. I don’t want our reputation tainted because of you.”

It was a lie if Seungmin said he wasn’t offended by Lia’s words, she was right nonetheless and he praised her integrity.

But that didn’t stop him from meeting Hyunjin the night after. He was more careful with his move after that night.

~***~

It was an unfortunate night and it bound to happen even if they were being extremely careful while wandering around the castle.

“So I’ve received a report saying there are some students who were frequently out of bed. I’m really surprised to see you two.”

“While I expected you to be out of bed once a while Mr Hwang,” Professor McGonagall said, shifting her attention to Seungmin as she raised her glasses, giving the boy a questioning look, “I definitely did not expect to see you as well, Mr Kim. It’s a disappointment because you ought to know better since you are a prefect.”

Seungmin had his eyes staring at the floor, fiddling his fingers anxiously, worrying if his position as prefect would be ripped by their Headmistress.

He heard her let out a sigh, as if contemplating. “Since this is your first time, I’ll let you off with a warning, Mr Kim, and as for you Mr Hwang, fifteen points will be taken from Gryffindor and two days detention with Professor Longbottom.”

Seungmin heaved a sigh of relief, giving Professor McGonagall a weak smile as he thanked her. He turned to Hyunjin and flashed an apologetic smile, feeling bad for the Gryffindor. Hyunjin grinned and shook his head. 

“I’m fine, don’t worry,” he mouthed.

“Now, off to bed, you two. Don’t let me catch you, even your shadows, again.”

  
  
  


“Do you hear the rumour?” Felix asked in the midst of their studying. He was writing something about the topic they recently learned in Ancient Runes. He leaned back and stared at the note he just jotted down, quietly trying to digest everything and make the information stayed in his head.

“What rumour?” Seungmin asked back absent-mindedly, not bother looking up from his book. Tapping his featherly quill on the table, he muttered the words he was reading under his breath.

“Dating rumour,” Felix casually answered. “...of a Gryffindor and a Slytherin.”

Seungmin froze in his seat, almost choking on air hearing the information told by Felix, but he managed to collect himself before his body began to react unnecessarily. The quill he was holding almost escaped from between his fingers.

Seungmin found himself breathing again after a while, feeling his heartbeat rise as seconds ticked by. He swallowed nervously. “Where did you hear it?”

Felix seemed to think for a while, frowning all over trying to remember. He shrugged. “No idea. Everybody’s saying it.”

“Do you have any idea who they could be?” Seungmin asked carefully, leaning toward the blond boy while trying not to be obvious. He needed information about this because it could be him and Hyunjin.

Or, the rumour was really about them.

Seungmin had a hunch it was the second one.

“I heard they are fifth years.” A chuckle escaped Felix’s mouth as if remembering something. “Despite the whole hate ordeal between the two houses, there are actually two people in love. Love is powerful, indeed.”

Seungmin let out a nervous laugh, feeling cold sweats all over his forehead. “Indeed…”

Felix turned to him unexpectedly, smiling brightly as he leaned forward with a curious pair of eyes “Don’t you know who? I mean, it could be one of your Slytherin friends.”

_It’s me, your friend, right here, Lix_ , Seungmin said to himself in his mind. “No, I have no idea. I just heard the rumor from you.” 

Seungmin was speaking the truth about that. He _truly_ only knew it today. He wouldn’t have known if Felix didn’t mention it to him. 

Seungmin chewed his cheeks, contemplating on whether he should tell Felix or not about Hyunjin. The blond boy had been nothing but kind to him since they first formed their friendship and Felix had told him a fair share of his love life.

It was a lie if Seungmin didn’t worry about Felix’s perspective toward a secret romantic relationship underneath the hate ordeal between Gryffindor and Slytherin. He sure didn’t show any kind of dislike or hate against it, but then Seungmin never exactly knew if the Hufflepuff had ever witnessed a sworn-enemies relationship for Felix to show any reaction at all.

Seungmin trusted Felix.

“Lix,” he called the blond who was getting ready to revise his notes again. Felix turned his head to the Slytherin and raised his eyebrows curiously. “Can you keep a secret for me?”

Felix’s eyes somewhat brightened at the question. He then fully turned his body and nodded enthusiastically. “What is it?” 

Seungmin snickered amusingly. “Why do you seem so excited?”

Felix beamed, eyes disappearing and forming lines. “Secret is exciting.”

The Slytherin shook his head in amusement, and then he wore his neutral expression. Taking a deep breath, he nervously began, “The rumor you heard is probably not really a rumor. It could be just a rumor, but it also could be true.”

Seungmin paused and Felix waited.

“So, I’m the Slytherin who is dating the Gryffindor.”

“WHAT?!” Felix exclaimed loudly in complete shock, his jaw dropped and eyes grew so wide that they almost popped out of eye sockets, instinctively covering his open mouth with his small hand. His sudden outburst had gained them attention from students around them, who sent them death glares and hissed them to shut up.

Seungmin quickly shushed him and hissed, “You’re going to get us kicked out!” His eyes quickly darted around, trying to see if Madam Pince was anywhere in their sight.

“Sorry. I can’t help it!” Felix hissed back, hand still covering his mouth. “Do you see Madam Pince?”

Seungmin shook his head after not seeing the librarian, heaving a sigh of relief. “Fortunately, no.”

“Now back to the conversation. Are you really dating a Gryffindor?”

“Yeah.”

“Crazy. Love really does things to people, huh?” Felix wiggled his eyebrows, displaying a cheeky smile. “Just to be clear. He’s the _H_ , right? So, who exactly is H?” He blinked, leaning closer in curiosity.

“Promise me you won’t shout like just now,” Seungmin warned, shooting a dagger through his eyes. Felix smiled and nodded eagerly.

“Hwang Hyunjin.”

Felix’s mouth gaped open at the revelation, eyes unblinking. Surprised was understatement, he was floored.

“Hwang Hyunjin as in Gryffindor’s Quidditch Captain? The one that many students ogle their eyes for?” 

Seungmin nodded as confirmation. “Yeah.” 

Shaking his head in amazement, Felix clapped his hands in slow motion, making sure no sound was produced. “Wow. Kim Seungmin. How did you manage to snatch a whole Hwang Hyunjin, despite your houses hating each other?”

He gave Seungmin a teasing smile, raising an eyebrow. The latter only shrugged and let out a soft and shy giggle. 

“It just happened, I guess.”

“But, figures. Your charms are no joke. It's no wonder he likes you.”

The conversation came to an end when Seungmin had to force the blond Hufflepuff to stop talking about his love life, telling him they had to study. It was hard and taking a while to get Felix stopped talking but it worked in the end after a little more teasing to the Slytherin.

“Sorry, Seungmin, I need to leave early today. I have a date with Changbin.” Felix smiled apologetically as he was packing up his stuff, picking up Felicia and cradling her in his arms.

Seungmin waved his hands, telling him nothing to be worried about. “It’s alright. We’ve covered a lot today. Have fun on your date!”

With an enthusiastic wave and a blinding smile, Felix left. As soon as he disappeared from Seungmin’s sight, the Slytherin shifted his attention back to his books for another two hours before a familiar voice greeted him.

“Hi, cupcake.”

“Oh, hi, muffin,” Seungmin replied almost casually before realization hit him, whipping his head to a side so quick that he could get a neck sprain, literally, to see Hyunjin standing nearby. “What are you doing here?” he hissed, eyes darting around worriedly to see if there were students around. Fortunately, there was no one, at least in their sight.He just didn’t want to add fuel to the rumor about _them_.

“Chill, cupcake. No one’s really here. It’s almost dinner anyway,” Hyunjin calmly said, taking a seat next to the Slytherin. He tossed his bag on the floor and put an elbow on the table, leaning against it. 

“Are you worried about the rumor?”

Seungmin tensed, feeling his anxiety rise for some apparent reason. “Bloody hell, yes, of course.”

Hyunjin reached for Seungmin’s hand and gave it a light squeeze, flashing a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry. We’ll be fine and the rumor will pass. Alright? It’s called rumor for a reason.”

Seungmin took a deep breath and exhaled heavily, finding himself relaxed at Hyunjin’s assuring words. He nodded understandingly.

“Go back to your study. Don’t mind me. I’ll just stay quiet right here.”

“You better be,” Seungmin warned, shifting his concentration back to his book. Hyunjin kept his promise by staying quiet while enjoying the sight in front of him.

Seungmin sighed after a while, giving a sideways glance to the fondly staring Gryffindor. "Can you not stare at me while I'm studying?" 

Hyunjin grinned cheekily, raising an eyebrow. "Why? Is this handsome face distracting you?"

Seungmin rolled his eyes, annoyed. He lazily admitted, "Yeah, you're distracting me with your annoying presence. Shoo, go bother someone else."

Hyunjin pretended to be upset about it, lips jutting out into a sulky pout. He began to fiddle his fingers mindlessly, eyes looking down at his fiddling fingers. It didn't take long for Seungmin to notice. In fact, he knew well the tall boy was merely pretending. He let out a soft chuckle, putting down his quill, and scooted closer towards Hyunjin. He took Hyunjin's hands into his, caressing the back of the hand softly and gently.

"I know you're not actually sulking." Seungmin grinned as he continued to hold onto Hyunjin's hand. "I appreciate your presence, more than anything. I'd give everything to spend time with you, and it seems like it's fated that Felix left early today, because you're able to be here, next to me, instead of watching from afar."

Hyunjin gawked at him in shock. "Y-You knew?" he almost stuttered, eyes wide.

Seungmin let out a soft giggle. Hyunjin being surprised was adorable. "Yeah. I knew you'd sit over there—" he pointed in a direction— "and watched us study. I saw you a few times, with Jeongin sometimes. Disguise failed, I guess?" 

Hyunjin's cheeks quickly dusted with crimson red in embarrassment, hiding half of his face with his free hand —he didn't bother to move the other one because Seungmin was still holding it. Seungmin's lips curled into a fond smile at the cute sight of Hyunjin, pleased that he was able to fluster the Gryffindor. He scooted closer, closing the distance between them. He reached for Hyunjin's hand on his face, and pulled it down as their eyes met.

Seungmin was still smiling, and Hyunjin was still flustered.

He brought his free hand up to Hyunjin’s head, fingers trailed up to his cheekbone, and then slid through his hair. Seungmin slowly pulled Hyunjin close to him and pressed his lips on Hyunjin’s warm one. He wasn’t the type to kiss in the library, but for Hyunjin, he could do that, willingly.

The kiss was soft, no rush, no speed, just gentle, fluffy, and sweet, devouring each other’s taste like no other.

~***~

Seungmin was at the door when he heard a loud bickering coming from inside the classroom. His step slowly came to a halt when he was finally inside, standing in the middle of the doorway, eyes catching the sight of two Gryffindors facing each other with clenching fists.

One of them was his own boyfriend.

“Why do you care about him so much?” Jisung snarled. He gritted his teeth and slammed the table, startling everyone in the room.

Seungmin’s body slightly jerked in shock, eyes grew wide, half wondering whatever was happening between the two of them, and half worrying over Hyunjin.

Hyunjin didn’t answer the question. He sighed tiredly. “Let’s just stop being childish.”

Jisung snorted sarcastically, and his lips quirked upward on one side in mockery. “It was you who started this, and now you want us to stop.”

“Yeah, that’s right. I started it, but I’ve stopped since last year, ain’t I? People changed, Jisung. People can change.”

Jisung clenched his jaw. “Bullshit!” he yelled exasperatedly, shoving away everything on the table, and then he swiftly turned on his heel, ready to storm off the classroom when his eyes caught the sight of Seungmin.

He stood there with clenching fists and fiery eyes, shooting a death glare at Seungmin before he walked away, bumping his shoulder harshly with the Slytherin on his way out of the classroom, leaving Seungmin absolutely confused as to why Jisung was pissed off with him too.

Seungmin brought his hand up to his shoulder, feeling a slight pain caused by the bump and rubbing it lightly. His eyes then met with Hyunjin, who was looking at him with a worried expression, while cleaning up the mess Jisung made.

Seungmin slightly shook his head and mouthed ‘ _it’s nothing_ ’, shuffling to his seat immediately after that. Yeji was already in her seat.

“What happened?” he asked as soon as he sat next to Yeji.

Yeji tilted her head and peeked over to the certain Gryffindor at the back. Hyunjin already finished cleaning everything up. She shrugged her shoulders, leaned back and faced the front.

“I don’t know that much, but from what I could hear before Jisung–” Yeji made an explosive gesture with her hands– “poof, exploded, Hyunjin told Jisung to stop doing something. I’m guessing it’s related to the prank note? Because Hyunjin mentioned something like already stopping doing it and stuff. Also he was the one who started the prank note, remember?”

Seungmin reluctantly nodded at the painful memory, remembering the things Hyunjin did in the past towards him and his Slytherin friends. A past remained a past, though it was painful, and he was glad Hyunjin had changed for the better now.

When Seungmin met Minho later that night during dinner in the Great Hall, he told Minho about Hyunjin and Jisung’s quarrel before History of Magic class, leading him to tell the older boy about the death glares he had been getting from Jisung. He also didn’t miss out on telling that one time Jisung pushed him off the stairs during the Quidditch game between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff.

“What the hell??” Minho almost shouted after Seungmin told him about the staircase incident, his hand gripping tightly to the utensils he was holding in anger. He found Jisung’s action was ridiculous and too much.

“What in the bloody hell is wrong with him?” Minho grumbled, shoving a sausage into his mouth and munching it in frustration.

Seungmin shrugged his shoulders and groaned. “I can’t figure out why.”

“Have you told Hyunjin about this?”

Seungmin chewed his cheeks and let out a sigh. He shook his head weakly. “No, I haven’t, and I don’t want to. If he doesn’t believe me when I tell him, that’s fine. I’m afraid they’re going to end up fighting each other. Hyunjin and Jisung are really close. I don’t want to ruin their friendship.”

“They’re already fighting even without you telling him. Sooner or later, Hyunjin will find out. I doubt Jisung will stop. What if he tries to injure you again?” Minho asked, furrowing his eyebrows worriedly.

“I know, but I don’t know what to do either!” Seungmin snapped, pressing his palms onto his face in frustration. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to snap.” He exhaled heavily. “I promise I’ll be careful.”

“Hyunjin, are you alright?” Seungmin asked when he noticed Hyunjin seemed to be distraught in his own thought when they met later at midnight. He gently touched the Gryffindor’s shoulder and called him again, “Hyunjin?”

Hyunjin seemed to snap from his deep thoughts after that, whipping his head toward Seungmin. “Oh, what?”

“Are you alright, muffin?”

Hyunjin closed his eyes and let out a sigh, shoulders dropping. He opened his eyes and shook his head. “I don’t know.”

“Is it about Jisung?” Seungmin carefully asked, sliding his hand into Hyunjin’s and intertwining them together.

Hyunjin shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe?”

Seungmin tilted his head slightly. “Do you want to talk about it? I’m here listening.”

Hyunjin hesitated. It took him a while before he opened his mouth and spoke, “We’ve never fought before. I mean, Jisung and I. We had our disagreements but not to the point of not talking. I tried to talk to him but he avoided me.”

“What exactly had happened?”

“Jisung wanted to send the prank note to you. He wrote a lot of mean words. Words that could possibly scars you for life. But, I stopped him, which made him very angry. He asked me why he should stop. I kept telling him to stop but he won’t. And you know the rest. I’ve never seen him so furious like that. Like he could murder anyone who blocks his way. At that moment, I thought he wasn’t the Jisung I know.”

Seungmin was suddenly reminded of the death glares he had received from Jisung since the past few weeks and shuddered. He knew well how it felt getting such glare from the Gryffindor.

He wanted to tell Hyunjin about it, about the glares, about Jisung shoving him off stairs, he badly wanted to, but when Seungmin took a look at how dreadful Hyunjin seemed, he sighed.

“Give Jisung some time and try to talk to him again after that,” was what Seungmin ended up saying.

~***~

  
  


“...and that will be your homework. I want your essay to be in one parchment and half. Please submit it by next week. Class dismissed.”

With that, the classroom immediately blared with random noises; the sound of moving chairs, students’ chattering and whining about the homework, loud yells out of nowhere, and literally anything that produced sounds.

“Uh, you’re leaving early today?” Yeji asked when she noticed Seungmin was packing up his stuff as well. “What’s up?”

“Oh yeah, I have something to do,” he said, quickly shoving his things into the bag. He really needed to be somewhere else at the moment.

Yeji’s lips quirked upward on a side, wiggling her eyebrows cheekily. “Lover stuff?” She puckered her lips and made kissy noise after that, making a scowl formed on the boy’s face.

“Blimey. Not again.” 

Seungmin huffed tiredly. 

Ever since he revealed to her and Minho, individually, about the kiss he shared with Hyunjin –only the first kiss (it was all because they bugged him to death, he gave up eventually), not in million years he would reveal the rest of the kisses– they had been teasing him non stop whenever he said he had stuff to do, even if it was actually prefect duties. “I wish I didn’t tell you guys that.”

Yeji playfully stuck out her tongue. “You wish.”

Seungmin rolled his eyes in annoyance, holding himself from physically hitting the Slytherin girl. He didn’t discriminate against the genders when it was about beating people, and Yeji wasn’t an exception.

But, Seungmin wasn’t one to hit people so carelessly, so he let it go, pitifully.

Yeji had become even more playful after their reconciliation. He’d sort of wish they would go back to the way their friendship worked previously, but alas things happened.

“Let’s go.”

Before disappearing through the door, he managed to cast a sideways glance and a thin smile to Hyunjin, who was sitting at the back and gladly returning it with a fool wide grin.

Seungmin and Yeji were talking to each other and walking down the stairs when he felt a light tap on his shoulder. Immediately he halted his pace and swirled to the back to see who it was, but before he could turn completely, he felt a strong push on his shoulder, making him lose balance instantly.

While trying to find his balance, Seungmin saw the perpetrator.

Jisung, right in front of him. 

With mouth quirking upward on a side, Jisung held out his arm and gave him another strong shove in a flash, and Seungmin’s body fell backward. 

Seungmin’s eyes widened, hands desperately reaching out to hold on to anything at all.

But, there was nothing he could hold on to, and he was falling to the bottom of the stairs, _fast_.

As if everything was in slow motion, right before his eyes he saw Hyunjin frantically running down the stairs and took out his wand. Seungmin closed his eyes, bracing the contact with the floor when he heard, 

" _Arresto Momentum_!" The loud voice boomed throughout the area.

Seungmin landed on the floor slowly and safely, right at the moment when Hyunjin yelled out the spell, slowing down his falling to the floor.

Several loud gasps, whisperings and footsteps filled the area.

When Seungmin opened his eyes, he saw Hyunjin and Yeji kneeling by his sides and finally let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding the whole time.

“You alright, Seungmin?” Hyunjin asked, visibly worrying over his boyfriend. He took Seungmin’s hand and helped him to sit up.

Seungmin’s heartbeat was beating wildly, out of fear of what just happened to him.

He took a moment to calm himself, taking a few deep breaths. He replied in a trembling voice, “Yeah. I’m alright. Thanks, Hyunjin. You were quick to cast the spell.”

Hyunjin let out a relief sigh, his worried expression gradually relaxed. 

“You sure you’re fine? You’re not hurting anywhere?” he asked, checking the Slytherin’s whole body, from top to bottom, trying to find if the boy was hurting somewhere.

Seungmin shook his head and gave the tall boy a weak reassuring smile. “I’m really fine.”

“Thankfully.” Hyunjin was about to reach for Seungmin’s head and ruffle his hair when a hand slapped his own, making him wince in pain. He retracted his hand and glanced confusedly at the person who did that.

“You guys in public, idiot,” Yeji hissed quietly, gesturing to the students around them with her eyes.

Hyunjin’s eyes widened. “Oh, right.”

Yeji could only shake her head at her cousin. “What in the bloody hell is wrong with Jisung? Why did he push Seungmin?” she quickly asked, angry. She looked up at the perpetrator, who was still standing still at the stairs.

Jisung still hadn’t moved since earlier.

Hyunjin’s worried expression seemed to subside as his anger rose, fingers of both hands balled into fists. He stood and glared sharply at Jisung with his piercing eyes.

“Why did you do that, Jisung?” he asked in a loud voice, clenching his jaw.

“You know what’s the answer, Hyunjin,” Jisung nonchalantly answered, gesturing to Seungmin.

“What did he ever do to you?” Hyunjin gritted his teeth, his fists clenching tight in anger, nails digging his palms.

His face was reddening and he could explode right there any time now.

Seungmin felt like he had to do something. He didn’t want a fight to break between the two Gryffindors, the two best friends, especially when it seemed like he was the cause of their fight. He wanted to hold on to Hyunjin’s hand and calm him down, but there were too many eyes, too risky.

“Screw it,” Seungmin muttered under his breath and reached for Hyunjin’s balled fist, holding it with his two hands. 

“Hyunjin, no,” he mumbled in a soft voice, half whispering. “Hyunjin, look at me.”

Only after a while, Hyunjin looked down and met Seungmin’s eyes. Seungmin shook his head and mouthed ‘ _no_ ’ to the boy, asking him not to fight in front of everyone.

Hyunjin’s piercing angry eyes gradually softened and his balled fists loosened up eventually. Seungmin gave him a little smile, rubbing his thumb over Hyunjin’s hand softly before letting go.

“Mr Han Jisung,” a voice everyone knew called in a calm but stern manner.

Everyone at the scene craned their head up and saw their Headmistress, Professor McGonagall, standing at the stairs, not far from where Jisung was. “I saw everything. Follow me to my office. Mr Hwang Hyunjin too. Now. As for Mr Kim Seungmin, see me after settling your matter with Professor Flitwick.”

Hyunjin heaved out a sigh and briefly turned to Seungmin, bidding him goodbye in a small wave.

“I’m going. See you later, cupcake.”

Yeji’s eyes grew wide, almost gagged when she heard it, though it was a whisper, she could hear it perfectly and clearly.

“He called you cupcake?” she asked, taking Seungmin’s hand and helping him to stand up.

“What? It’s cute,” Seungmin retorted casually, dusting his robe off from the dirt sticking there. He bent down to pick up his bag and slung it on his shoulder.

Yeji scrunched her face sourly. “Sike. That’s disgustingly cute. What do you call him then?”

Seungmin blinked innocently and a sweet smile graced his face. “Muffin.”

Yeji’s jaw fell apart, shocked, staring at him in disbelief. “I’m out.”

“Oh hey, muffin,” Seungmin said when his eyes caught a figure standing with his back leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest and eyes glued on the floor outside of the Headmistress’s office. He just finished talking to Professor McGonagall about the earlier incident, and what he heard from the Headmistress, Jisung got himself detention for the rest of the school term and his parents would be informed about his wrongdoings. “I thought you already left.”

Hyunjin was snapped back from his train of thoughts and looked up. Locking up his eyes with Seungmin’s, his lips curled into a tired smile.

"Hi, cupcake."

Seungmin closed the door behind him and slowly approached the tall boy. When he was right in front of the Gryffindor, he opened wide his arms and carefully slid them around him, bracing against his shoulder blades. Pulling him close, he engulfed Hyunjin in a gentle hug, softly rubbing his back.

Hyunjin naturally rested his chin on Seungmin's shoulder and placed his hands on the latter's waist, inching up closer to the boy. "Are you alright, Seungmin?"

Seungmin nodded and hummed. He heard Hyunjin let out a heavy sigh after that.

“Why did Jisung do that to you? We’re best friends…He shouldn’t do that to you. I get it if he doesn’t like you because of the whole hate ordeal, but to do that kind of thing to you when you did nothing wrong to him is just...terrible.”

Seungmin leaned back, placing his hands on the tall boy's broad shoulders and gazed at Hyunjin in the eyes, giving him a quick smile. Hyunjin’s hands remained on the Slytherin’s waist.

"Hyunjin. I’m sure he has reasons. Talk to him. Promise me you’ll talk to him. Talk, not fight, alright?” 

Hyunjin heaved another defeated sigh and reluctantly nodded.

“I heard about Jisung pushing you off the stairs during the Quidditch final game. Why didn’t you tell me?”

Seungmin pursed his lips, averting his gaze. He didn't answer.

“Do you think I won’t believe you if you tell me?”

Seungmin’s eyes widened, whipping his head to Hyunjin’s direction and locking their eyes. “No!” he replied defensively. He exhaled softly. “I don’t want to ruin your friendship with Jisung. You told me before you only have Gryffindor friends now."

Hyunjin furrowed his eyebrows, confused. "Even if it meant you're getting hurt?"

Seungmin hesitantly nodded. 

Hyunjin became silent as he quietly processed his thoughts, eyes darting around the area. Locking their eyes again, his expression visibly darkened and he warily asked, "Do...do you think you're nothing to me?"

Seungmin’s eyes grew wide, lips fell apart. "W-What? No! I didn't mean it that way. I mean, your friendship should come first. Jisung is your best friend, Hyunjin."

Hyunjin stared at Seungmin in daze, he didn’t get it.

Seungmin bit his lower lip and sighed, trying to come up with a suitable analogy for Hyunjin to understand his situation.

"You see, Minho and I have been friends since second year. He cares for me a lot. So if Minho did bad things to you, would you tell me?"

Hyunjin slowly shook his head.

“Why?” Seungmin asked, lifting his eyebrows.

Hyunjin pursed his lips and muttered, "I don't want to ruin your friendship."

Seungmin reached his hands up and pressed them against Hyunjin’s cheeks, gazing at him softly. "Do you get it now why didn't I tell you?"

Hyunjin let out a sigh and closed his eyes, nodding understandingly. “You don't want to hurt me by hurting my friendship."

~***~

“Class dismissed.”

When the professor of Defence Against the Dark Arts announced the class dismissal, the classroom was immediately filled with noises of students leaving the room. Seungmin glanced over to Hyunjin’s desk which was only occupied by the tall boy, because somehow Jisung weren’t able to attend the class. After a while, the classroom became empty and only the two of them remained in the space. Seungmin rose from his seat and walked over to Hyunjin’s desk, plopping himself down on Jisung’s seat.

They sat there quietly until Hyunjin broke the silence between them.

“So, I talked to Jisung yesterday,” Hyunjin began hesitantly, biting his lower lips nervously, “We just talked, no arguments, no bickering, no fighting, just talked like I promised you to,” he paused and breathed out, “He admitted everything to me.” Seungmin reached for the tall boy’s hand and grabbed in his, telling him that he was listening.

“He said he did it because…,” Hyunjin paused, taking a deep breath, “...he...likes...me.” 

He stopped again, collecting his thoughts. 

Seungmin squeezed his hand lightly and looked at Hyunjin worriedly, but the Gryffindor was calm and composed. “He hates that you caught my attention. He hates that I like you. He hates you more when he realizes you like me too. Those drove him to do what he did.”

Hyunjin let out a sigh, shoulders slumped, eyebrows furrowed. “I don’t know.” He swallowed. His throat felt dry. “This is hard to digest. We’re best friends. I like him too, but...not the way he does.”

Seungmin scooted closer and slid his arms around Hyunjin, bracing against his shoulder blades.

“He told me to tell you that he’s sorry for what he did. I told him to meet you and apologize properly. So, I guess he’ll come and meet you soon.”

Seungmin nodded understandingly.

“Do you want me there when he meets you later?”

Seungmin smiled reassuringly, a hand reaching up and pressing on Hyunjin’s cheek. Hyunjin naturally leaned to his touch. “It’s okay.”

“What if he hurt you again?” Hyunjin asked and visibly winced, feeling awful to have said those words about his own best friend.

“No, muffin. He won’t,” Seungmin assured, another hand rising to press another side of cheek, “Trust me. He already apologized to you so I don’t think he would try again. Don’t worry too much, alright?”

Hyunjin sighed in defeat and nodded. “Jisung said he was the one who started the rumor. He just wanted us to get caught and ostracized for life. Why do I feel like he was the one who reported us to the Headmistress?”

“No, it wasn’t Jisung.”

“Then, who?”

“My prefect partner Lia. She confronted me about sneaking out the other day so I guess she caught me again.”

Jisung did come to meet Seungmin two days later, apologizing for what he had done to the Slytherin, and mentioning that he deeply regretted his actions toward Seungmin. Remorse was clearly written all over his face, barely looking up from the ground. His hands were clasped together.

“I won’t ask you to forgive me because what I did was awful. I took my frustration out on you. I’m really sorry—”

“I forgive you,” Seungmin interrupted calmly.

“What?” Jisung swiftly lifted up his head, meeting Seungmin’s eyes. His eyes were shaking, his fingers were trembling.

Seungmin flashed a small smile. “I said, I forgive you.”

“But, why? I tried to injure you...I don’t deserve to be forgiven.”

“Because you weren’t driven by pure evil and hatred. You only acted according to the circumstances that made you think it was the right thing to do. But, here you are, apologizing to me, proving that you’re merely a human. Humans make mistakes, Jisung, and so do you. I know you care a lot for Hyunjin. You could just tell everyone about our relationship, but you didn’t, because you don’t want to hurt Hyunjin. More proof that you’re a human.”

JIsung’s eyes were glassy when Seungmin made eye contact with him, lips stretching into a small smile. “Thank you. And Seungmin?”

“Yeah?” Seungmin raised his eyebrows in anticipation.

“You sound a lot like Hyunjin, in a good way, of course. He does say wise words sometimes,” Jisung said, a small smile gracing his face.

The Slytherin chuckled. “I agree.”

~***~

“Hyunjin,” Seungmin called, and Hyunjin hummed, fingers playing with the latter’s hair. They were in the Room of Requirement, lying cosily on a comfy single bed that somehow fitted two people at once with arms around each other, and legs tangled together.

“Let’s not meet each other a—”

“What?!” Hyunjin’s head snapped toward Seungmin, eyes grew in shock. “Why?!” Tears began to well up in Hyunjin’s eyes as he wailed dramatically. “ Am I not enough for you? Did I not love you enough?”

Seungmin groaned and rolled his eyes. “You and your dramatic arse. Let me finish the sentence!”

Hyunjin grew quiet, lips jutted out into a sulky pout, and cowered in defeat.

“Let’s not meet each other at least a week before the O.W.Ls exam, until the final exam day.”

Hyunjin showed a cheeky smile, narrowing his eyes and wiggling his eyebrows. “Why? You worry if you’ll get distracted by me?”

Seungmin shook his head. “No. I worry if _you_ are the one who’ll get distracted.”

“Yeah, right.” Hyunjin scoffed. “You got distracted when I began to gaze at you. Also, in the library when you kissed me.”

“Merlin’s Beard, only that one time.” Seungmin huffed in irritation, rolling his eyes. “Okay, I admit I got distracted in the library but not when you started throwing glances at me.”

Hyunjin’s eyebrows furrowed, confused. “What do you mean? You’ve always had that face when you’re distracted.”

“...no, not really.” Seungmin let out a sigh. “It was a disguise. I wanted to hold your gaze, but I didn’t want you to get any idea, so cue that face.”

“You wanted to hold my gaze?” Hyunjin’s lips parted, eyes grew curiously. Seungmin nodded slightly, looking anywhere else but Hyunjin’s eyes.

“But, why?” 

Seungmin rolled his eyes at Hyunjin for being obviously oblivious. “Because I was interested in you, of course, you dummy! If I wasn’t, I would have ignored you after you first locked eyes with me.”

“Oh.” Hyunjin nodded understandingly, absorbing the information rather easily. “So, you already liked me then?”

“No. Like is a strong word. Interested. I was interested.”

“Yeah, right.” Hyunjin smiled cheekily, wiggling his eyebrows teasingly.

A week before the O.W.Ls exam started, Hyunjin did keep his promise to the Slytherin and tried not to meet. In the first three days were fine, but by the end of day four, Hyunjin began to show his Seungmin-drought by subtly sending small hearts, winks, and flying kiss whenever he could, either in the Great Hall, or in classroom, or passing by each other in the corridor.

Hyunjin also didn’t miss to graze his fingers against Seungmin’s, like he had done before.

In all honesty, Seungmin thought Hyunjin was ridiculously cute, and he liked all the attention given.

~***~

It was official. 

The summer holidays had begun, not quite literally but still. Seungmin couldn’t wait to be home, to be in his bedroom, to be in his own space. As much as he liked being at school sometimes, he liked to be at home a little better.

A comforting place where he could be himself openly.

Arithmancy was the last subject Seungmin needed to take for the O.W.Ls exam. The O.W.Ls exam was the most crucial part and he felt like he had done well. If he were to rate his performance from one to ten, it was definitely eight-point-five. It was safe to say he was satisfied with himself despite a lot of things happening in the last three months, especially involving a certain Gryffindor named Hwang Hyunjin a.k.a his boyfriend.

_His boyfriend._

Seungmin really couldn’t get used to it.

After the professor announced the dismissal, almost every student stood up at once, booming the huge hall with the loud sound of moving chairs and chattering noise between them, and began to leave one by one. Seungmin stayed at his seat as usual, letting the hall clear up before making his way out of there. 

The moment he stepped out of the hall, there, at the entrance, was a prince charming, _his prince charming_ , waiting for _his beloved prince_ in patience while leaning his back against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest, looking dashing and dazzling in his robe. 

Hyunjin always looked dashing and dazzling in whatever he wore.

It was one of his many charms.

“Hi, cupcake,” Hyunjin greeted, a bright grin gracing on his mouth, eyes crinkling into crescents. He opened his arms wide, inviting him into it.

“Hey, muffin,” Seungmin greeted back with the same energy, shuffling over to the tall boy. His eyes darted around, scanning for any known person in the area before sliding his arms around Hyunjin’s torso and then pressed their bodies together, nuzzling his face onto the boy’s chest. He hid his face in the crook of his neck and inhaled his scent; a mixture of lavender and fruits. It was comforting and made him drunk. 

Drunk in Hyunjin’s captivating scent.

“I missed you,” Seungmin said, almost sounding like a whine, “so much.”

Hyunjin was a home too. 

_His home_.

Hyunjin wrapped a hand around Seungmin’s back, while the other hand slid to the back of his neck and his hair, pressing his cheek to the boy’s hair. He smiled.

“I missed you so much too.”

They stayed in the position for a while before pulling away. No matter how much they both desired each other’s warmth, they couldn’t be seen like that, especially during broad daylight. Hyunjin studied Seungmin’s face for a bit, smiling.

“How’s your Arithmancy exam?”

Seungmin grimaced. “Don’t ask.”

Hyunjin let out a light chuckle, gently ruffling the Slytherin’s hair. “I’m going to show you something,” he told him, holding out his palm for Seungmin to take, and the latter did without further question. The Gryffindor had brought him to the training ground, a place where Flying classes were held for first years, making him wonder what Hyunjin was up to.

“Are you afraid of heights perhaps?” Hyunjin asked, genuinely curious.

Seungmin frowned at the question, but he shook his head nonetheless, earning a cheeky smile from the tall boy. He watched the tall boy taking his wand out of his robe.

“ _Accio_ Firebolt!” Hyunjin cast the spell loud and clear.

Within seconds, a broomstick flew toward them and he caught it easily with his hand. Seungmin scoffed at how showy Hyunjin was, but he didn’t say anything.

“Ever ride a Firebolt before?”

“No, but I heard it’s really fast.”

“Yeah,” Hyunjin easily agreed, lips curling into a grin. He hopped on the broomstick and held his palm out to Seungmin. “Care to join me?”

Seungmin’s eyes widened, surprised. “Are you for real?”

Hyunjin nodded, grinning. Hesitant, Seungmin placed his hand on the boy’s open palm. Hyunjin quickly grabbed it and pulled Seungmin to ride on the back.

“Hold tight, or you’re going to fly away!” he warned. Finding himself panicking, Seungmin wrapped his hands around Hyunjin’s waist immediately, holding onto him tight.

“On the count of three. One, two, thr–“

And off they went.

“You said THREE!” Seungmin screamed.

Hyunjin decided it was a good idea to have a little date near the Whomping Pillow after a few rounds of flying. They landed close to the moving tree, but not close enough to cause it to attack them. Not that they were trying to get themselves injured.

Hyunjin laid his back on the green grass with Seungmin lying on his side, head comfortably resting on the tall boy’s bicep with bodies pressed to each other, sharing an amount of warmth.

“Do you know why the Whomping Pillow was planted?” Hyunjin asked all of sudden, breaking the comfortable serene silence in the atmosphere.

“No. Why?”

“It acts as disguise to the opening of a secret passage leading from here, the Hogwarts grounds, to the Shrieking Shack.”

Seungmin’s body jolted up, sitting straight and turning his head to Hyunjin. “Wait. There’s a secret passage under the tree?”

Hyunjin flashed a confident smile and nodded. He followed the boy to sit up, naturally resting his chin on Seungmin’s shoulder and his hand slid around the boy’s slim waist. “If you look at the root closely, you’ll see some sort of hole right there,” he said and pointed his free hand in a direction. “You won’t notice it if you don’t pay attention to it.”

Seungmin followed to where Hyunjin directed and narrowed his eyes. 

He saw it.

“Wow. Interesting,” he muttered, nodding his head in amazement, “How did you know?”

“I might have stumbled upon the information while doing research about Mr Harry Potter.” Hyunjin grinned shyly, rubbing his nape in embarrassment at his confession.

Seungmin laughed in amusement. “You and your passion towards historical Seekers.”

“He was the youngest Quidditch player in a century! Can you blame me for being fascinated by him? He defeated the greatest dark wizard of all time too. He’s way too cool.”

Seungmin’s hands found their way to Hyunjin’s cheeks and pressed against them. He grinned. “You cute little thing. So, how old is Mr Harry Potter now?”

“He should be 40 years old now.” 

Seungmin gazed into Hyunjin’s eyes affectionately, loving the way his eyes sparkled brightly whenever the tall boy talked about something he loved. He wondered if Hyunjin’s eyes would sparkle that bright when he talked about him. He leaned forward, closed his eyes and pressed a chaste kiss on Hyunjin’s lips, letting it linger for a bit before pulling away.

When he opened his eyes, Hyunjin had that bright smile on his face, eyes crinkling into crescents, and he, Kim Seungmin, effortlessly returned the smile tenfold brighter.

Seungmin pulled the Gryffindor lying back on the grass, asking to tell him more about the Chosen One, to which Hyunjin was very delightfully and excitedly glad to enlighten.

"You think you're going to be alright with us dating secretly like this for the next two years? It could be really tiring."

Hyunjin heaved a quiet sigh and shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. There are some sort of thrills you know. So yeah, maybe I'm going to be alright. But, are you?"

"For me, either way is fine. Like you mentioned, there's a thrill to it. But...the worst case scenario, if we somehow get caught someday. Are you ready for that? I don't mind that much because I don't really have friends apart from Yeji and Minho. I'm more worried about you than anything. You’re close to your Gryffindor friends. They’re your second family right here." 

Seungmin slid his hand into Hyunjin’s and intertwined them together, fitting perfectly like a puzzle.

"As long as I'm with you, I'll be fine," Hyunjin said, squeezing Seungmin's hand gently and gazing at the Slytherin affectionately.

"Let's date real discreetly so that we don't get caught.” Seungmin smiled softly, giving a light squeeze in return. 

"I think we'll be fine."

"Yeah, we will," Seungmin assured.

"Seungmin."

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

"I love you too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so so so soooo much for joining the journey of seungjin in hogwarts. I've never imagined I would write this much (writing 27k words straight is a first, but a good practice) Thank you for all those kudos and comments you guys showered me with, I really really appreciate it and I'm really really happy reading every one of the comments. The most important part is I hope you've enjoyed reading :)

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed reading! Kudos and comments are very much appreciated!
> 
> [cc](https://curiouscat.me/mintchocthusiast)


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